Endoscopic surgery of the neck: a new frontier.

Endoscopic dissection and surgical intervention of the neck is a safe and technically feasible option. A cavity for the operation is made by sharp dissection after preliminary CO2 insufflation of the fascial planes to induce surgical emphysema. We successfully performed three endoscopic parathyroidectomies and five endoscopic hemithyroidectomies without any complication. The technical details and factors affecting the result of the operation are described here.