ArticleCancer management and research2021
Preoperative Visualized Ultrasound Assessment of the Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve in Thyroid Cancer Surgery: Reliability and Risk Features by Imaging.
Article in Cancer management and research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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10 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Diagnostic performance of ultrasonography in predicting extrathyroidal extension in papillary thyroid carcinoma.BMC medical imaging · 2026Article
- Ultrasonography of the recurrent laryngeal nerve in thyroid cancer: advances in clinical application and research progress.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Enhancing recurrent laryngeal nerve localization during transoral endoscopic thyroid surgery using augmented reality: a proof-of-concept study.Annals of surgical treatment and research · 2025Article
- Ultrasound Visualization of the Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve: A Prospective Clinical Validation Study.Annals of surgical oncology · 2025Article
- Gross recurrent laryngeal nerve invasion by extranodal extension in thyroid carcinoma.BMC cancer · 2025Article
- Protect the recurrent laryngeal nerves in US-guided microwave ablation of thyroid nodules at Zuckerkandl tubercle: a pilot study.BMC cancer · 2024Article
- Echotexture of recurrent laryngeal nerves: the depiction of recurrent laryngeal nerves at high-frequency ultrasound during radical thyroidectomy.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Article
- Predicting recurrent laryngeal nerve invasion by preoperative ultrasonography in patients with thyroid carcinoma.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2023Article
- Variant anatomy of non-recurrent laryngeal nerve: when and how should it be taught in surgical residency?Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2023Review
- Analysis of clinicopathological features of papillary thyroid carcinoma in solid organ transplant recipients: a retrospective study.Gland surgery · 2022Article
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5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
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Abstract
backgroundPreoperative identification and visualization of tumor infiltration of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) in patients with thyroid cancer is important. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the reliability and feasibility of preoperative assessment by ultrasound and to identify ultrasound imaging features potentially associated with tumor infiltration of the RLN.
methodsIn this prospective study, patients undergoing thyroid cancer surgery at our institution between August 2020 and January 2021 were included, and preoperative ultrasound visualization of the RLN and thyroid lesions was performed. RLN infiltration was also confirmed surgically in all cases. Five patients with enlarged lymph nodes were selected to undergo injection of carbon nanoparticles to confirm the correctness of RLN identification by preoperative ultrasound. The repeatability of RLN assessment by ultrasound was evaluated by comparing the correlation between pre- and intraoperative, intra- and inter-group assessments. Parameters of normal RLNs according to age, sex, and body mass index were established. Finally, ultrasound imaging features of patients with RLN tumor infiltration were analyzed to identify potential risk predictors.
resultsAccording to the ultrasonic assessment, RLNs of 70 patients appeared normal, while 14 of those patients appeared to be infiltrated by tumors. During surgery, the 70 cases of normal RLNs were confirmed, but only 8 of the 14 suspected cases of infiltration were confirmed. In all five patients injected with carbon nanoparticles, the location of RLNs adjacent to the marked lymph nodes observed by surgeons corresponded to the RLN location identified by preoperative ultrasound. The repeatability of RLN estimation varied from moderate to excellent. There were no significant differences in cross-sectional area, width, or thickness of normal RLNs according to age, sex, or body mass index. Indistinct margin with tumor, incontinuous shape as ultrasound features by the analysis of patients with surgically confirmed RLN infiltration were associated with tumor invasion.
conclusionWe show that preoperative ultrasound can be applied to visualize the RLN and may help predict tumor infiltration of the RLN.
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