Mini-invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy vs robot-assisted transaxillary thryoidectomy: analisys and comparison of safety and outcomes

Thyroid surgery is characterized by large volumes and typically affects a young female population. Mini-invasive or remote access surgical techniques are born driven by the desire to improve aesthetic outcomes of the traditional technique, following technological advances that have upset the surgical world in the last 20 years. In our multicenter, retrospective observational study, we first compared an endoscopic technique with a robotic one: minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT) and robot-assisted transaxillary thyroidectomy (RATT). We evaluated intraoperative features, complications, and cosmetic outcomes in a cohort of 609 patients. The efficacy and safety of these techniques are proven by a large literature and the comparison made in our study does not show inferiority of one technique compared to the other. Even the aesthetic results tend to be equal in the long term. It is desirable that further prospective and randomized studies are conducted to evaluate the outcomes of these procedures and the cost–benefit ratio.