CHENNAI: Young women, among the most susceptible to thyroid problems, hate having a surgeon operate on the gland. This is simply because, even in this day and age, the surgery needs a long incision in the neck, that often leaves a scar as wide as your middle finger. The scarring in the visible spectrum may soon be a thing of the past, though.
Surgeons at Sri Ramachandra University have now successfully operated on a 21-year-old girl’s thyroid gland by inserting the endoscope into the space between the lower jaw and the lip. “Three years ago, we had attempted to do the same surgery through the arm-pit using an endoscope, but even that left a mark that was quite visible. Women who are unmarried or young didn’t want that and there were a lot of queries for an alternate form of minimally invasive surgery,” explained Dr Vishwanath M Pai, General Surgeon.
This approach to the gland that produces several vital hormones, is good enough to complete the removal of the entire gland or a part of it, but it does have a few limitations. “I would not advocate it for very large tumours or obstructions, but for most other things, it can be very useful,” he said.
After they hit upon this entry, they made an action plan to perform a transoral endoscopic henithyroidectomy, by pushing the scope through the mouth into the neck - where the thyroid is situated. “The expertise in using the endoscope and operating without a direct field of vision was slightly challenging, but it leaves no mark at all. The patient was really happy with the results and we anticipate many more people opting for this method,” he added happily.
The team of general surgeons led by Dr Vishwanath Pai and anesthetists were led by Dr Mahesh Vakamudi, to complete the three-hour long procedure. “Normally, when we do a regular surgery through the neck, it takes only 1-1.5 hours, but this can take longer, simply because it is such a small opening to approach the gland from,” he concluded.
http://m.newindianexpress.com/chennai/394558
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