CAPSULAR DISSECTION REDUCES RECURRENT LARYNGEAL NERVE INJURY AND HYPOCALCEMIA IN THYROIDECTOMY

Methods: The study objective was to detect the incidence of hypocalcaemia and recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy in patients undergoing total thyroidectomy with capsular dissection technique. This was a prospective cohort study, done on 178 patients who underwent total thyroidectomy. Patients were recruited for 6 months from June 2019 to November 2019. After surgery, they were followed up for 9 months with calcium estimation and indirect laryngoscopy as per pre-determined schedule.

Results: Out of the 178 patients studied, 19.1% (34) developed hypocalcaemia during the follow up. Among these, 0.6% (1) developed permanent hypocalcaemia while 18.5% (33) developed temporary hypocalcaemia. 5.1% (9) patients developed temporary laryngeal nerve palsy and none (0) developed permanent laryngeal nerve palsy. Larger nodules were associated with more incidence of hypocalcemia while smaller nodules are associated with nerve palsy.