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01-06-2004 | Anatomic Bases of Medical, Radiological and Surgical Techniques

The external laryngeal nerve: surgical and anatomic considerations. Report of 50 total thyroidectomies

Authors: C. Page, M. Laude, D. Legars, P. Foulon, V. Strunski

Published in: Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy | Issue 3/2004

Abstract

This surgical anatomy study aimed to evaluate the possibility of identifying the external laryngeal nerve during thyroid surgery and the possible variations of nerves at risk. Fifty patients underwent total thyroidectomies during a period of 12 months. Using a neurostimulator, the distal motor branch of the external laryngeal nerve was searched. Electrical stimulation of a nervous branch aimed to provoke a global contraction of the cricothyroid in order to identify with certitude the external laryngeal nerve. The external laryngeal nerve was identified in 20% of cases. Its course was, with almost equal frequency, either (1) between the vessels of the superior thyroid pedicle or (2) superficial and anterior to the fascia of the cricothyroid muscle. The external laryngeal nerve is hard to find during thyroid surgery, even with a neurostimulator. It can be vulnerable during thyroid surgery but only in cases of anatomic variations. Searching for the nerve systematically during thyroid surgery does not seem to be useful. Several precautions when dissecting the superior pole of the thyroid gland seem to be necessary and sufficient to respect the external laryngeal nerve.

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Title: The external laryngeal nerve: surgical and anatomic considerations. Report of 50 total thyroidectomies
Authors: C. Page
M. Laude
D. Legars
P. Foulon
V. Strunski
Publication date: 01-06-2004
Publisher: Springer-Verlag
Published in: Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy / Issue 3/2004
Print ISSN: 0930-1038
Electronic ISSN: 1279-8517
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-003-0214-y

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The external laryngeal nerve: surgical and anatomic considerations. Report of 50 total thyroidectomies

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