The Effects of Deep Neuromuscular Blockade During Robot-assisted Transaxillary Thyroidectomy on Postoperative Pain and Sensory Change

In the researchers' words

As robotic surgery has been applied to various surgeries, the minimally invasive surgery is rapidly evolving. In particular, robot-assisted thyroidectomy is one of the leading techniques in minimally invasive surgery fields. Robot-assisted transaxillary thyroidectomy dramatically improves the cosmetic satisfaction, showing no difference in cancer control and safety comparing with conventional open thyroidectomy. However, some studies have shown that many patients complained of chest pain after robot-assisted thyroidectomy, and about 20% of patients suffered chronic pain even after three months of surgery. This might be due to the flap formation during robot-assisted thyroidectomy. Robot-assisted transaxillary thyroidectomy does not provide visibility by injecting CO2. But it provides visibility using Chung's retractor system to make a flap between the pectoralis major muscle and subcutaneous fat layer. The flap is formed from the incision of axilla to the anterior neck to approach the thyroid gland. In this progress, it requires considerable force to maintain the Chung's retractor system, and additional pressure may be applied to the subcutaneous fat and skin constituting the skin flap. The pressure applied to the skin flap may be associated with postoperative pain and sensory abnormality, but it has not been studied yet. Deep neuromuscular blockade The neuromuscular block…