Thyroid surgery has evolved radically in recent years. By a traditional and often ‘same for all’ intervention, has now turned into a carefully designed and personalized actadapted to the particular needs of each patient. This progress is based on three axes: the Integration of advanced technologies in surgery, the specialization of surgeons in endocrine surgery and new technology and personalized approach.
Personalization: The surgery is adapted to the patient – not the reverse
Thyroidectomy in the new era is performed by surgeons with education and academic knowledge in the diseases of the endocrine glands, who have the experience of planning the proper intervention taking into account that each patient is unique – with a different diagnosis, anatomy, aesthetic sensitivities and expectations.
Modern thyroidectomy interventions are now designed personalized, based on:
- Primarily the proper diagnosis (benign nodules, hyperthyroidism, cancer, metastases, genetic control)
- the patient’s sensitivity to the aesthetic effect and voice of
- the risk profile and accompanying diseases,
- age, gender and lifestyle,
- the patient’s preferences and concerns.
This means that for each patient a different technique may be selected such as:
- The minimum invasive techniques with throat incisions (Minet, Mivat)
- Innovative techniques without obvious scar, such as toetva or thyroidectomy from the armpit using endoscopic tools or robotic systems.
- The conventional access
All the gland or part of it may be removed, removed lymph nodes, become thyroidectomy in 1 or 2 stages, be selected in elderly or patients with other diseases Low stress and rapid recovery techniques.
Technology in the service of medical accuracy
Modern technological applications have been incorporated into the daily practice of surgeons trained in them to ensure maximum safety, functionality and improved aesthetic effects such as:
Energy hemostasis
Tools that use energy (ultrasound, electric) allow concomitant cutting and haemostasis with minimal bleeding and thermal damage. This translates into a smaller scar, faster surgery, smaller trauma and mild postoperative experience.
Neuroparasque (IONM)
Protecting the operation of vocal cords is the most important surgical time. Surgeons follow the laryngeal nerve with special systems in real -time, reducing the risk of vocal damage particularly useful in Repeat surgery or malignancies.
Self -determination of parathyroids
Via infrared and special cameras the parathyroids are recognized Without administering sketching substances and avoid their random removal and maintained safely, protecting you from hypasppeality.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
AI brings the revolution to personalization. Through smart algorithms:
- Ultrasound analyzed for more sorting nodules and diagnosis
- Estimated personalized the risks of each patient,
- mapped anatomy for precision surgical design,
- contributes to robotic assist In without obvious sections (Toetva, Transaxillary),
- Plans training simulators New surgeons.
- And the prognosis of complications and prediction of the disease will soon be allowed to be predicted.
Universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Mayo Clinic are already applying or studying such models of “smart surgery”.
What does the future hold us
The future of thyroid surgery is moving towards still more accurate, painless and personalized care. Research centers such as WITHthe Imperial College London work on:
- Automated nerve and glands identification in real time with Computer Vision systems,
- Ai-fetched robotic arms by adjusting movements to milliseconds,
- “Predictive surgery” By using a large volume of data to predict complications before the surgery even begins,
- and Improved intraoperative markers fluorescentwhich will allow more precise identification and maintenance of parathyroid and nerve.
In the near future, each patient will have a “thyroid digital profile” – an anatomy and risk map that will guide real -time surgery, with almost zero margin of error. The combination of robotics, AI, and virtual mapping will provide surgical experience personalized in each patient’s DNA.
Writes Poulios Efthimios, Surgeon, Assoc. Director HEALTH SURGERY