Remote-access hemithyroidectomy in a patient with papillary thyroid cancer after ipsilateral irradiation: a case report.

Remote-access thyroidectomy (RAT) is becoming a more frequently used approach that can avoid scars in the neck and provide better cosmetic results than open surgery. However, there has been no surgical indication for RAT in patients who have a history of cervical treatment (surgery or irradiation), and the use of RAT has been avoided in such patients. Here, we report a case in which a remote-access endoscopic hemithyroidectomy and central lymph node dissection by the anterior chest approach was successfully performed in a patient with papillary thyroid carcinoma (a 77-year-old Japanese male) after he had undergone ipsilateral cervical radiation therapy to parotid gland cancer (mucoepidermoid carcinoma) thirteen years earlier. Regarding trocar insertion, a 30-mm skin incision was made in the left anterior chest approx. 5 cm below the clavicle. Two 5-mm trocars were inserted through the 30-mm incision. We then insufflated with carbon dioxide to 6 mmHg. One additional 5-mm trocar was placed cephalad to the 30-mm incision. When we performed this RAT, we detected no effect of the prior irradiation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of RAT after irradiation. The cosmetic outcome of RAT is clearly superior, and the present case demonstrates that a RAT can be safely performed in carefully selected patients even after irradiation.