Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42618775›Full record

ArticleEuropean archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery2026

Predictors of tunneling time in transoral robotic thyroidectomy: impact of anatomical measurements.

Minwoo Kim, Seo Young Kim, Pilkeun Jang, Jeong-Yeon Ji, Wonjae Cha, Kyung Tae, Woo-Jin Jeong

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Article in European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

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7 authors.

Minwoo KimDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 300 Gumi-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, 13620, Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4025-6305
Seo Young KimDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 300 Gumi-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, 13620, Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2564-9757
Pilkeun JangDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 300 Gumi-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, 13620, Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3339-8735
Jeong-Yeon JiDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 300 Gumi-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, 13620, Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7070-8560
Wonjae ChaDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 300 Gumi-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, 13620, Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7292-9474
Kyung TaeDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0382-2072
Woo-Jin JeongDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 300 Gumi-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, 13620, Korea. safar00@snu.ac.kr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8577-6964

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo identify anatomical and clinical predictors of tunneling time during transoral robotic thyroidectomy via the vestibular approach (TORTVA) and to clarify the potential utility of body habitus-related predictors for case selection.

methodsWe retrospectively reviewed 33 consecutive patients who underwent TORTVA between October 2023 and December 2024. Tunneling time was defined as the interval from vestibular incision to completion of the subplatysmal tunnel. Preoperative sagittal neck computed tomography (CT) images were used to measure linear distances and angles between the mentum, hyoid bone, thyroid cartilage, thyroid isthmus, and sternal notch, as well as anterior neck soft tissue thickness. Clinicopathologic data and CT measurements were analyzed using univariate and multivariate linear regression.

resultsThe mean tunneling time was 25.3 min, with no significant difference observed between males (25.6 min) and females (25.2 min). In multivariate linear regression analysis, the skin-to-thyroid cartilage notch thickness (tST) (B=0.550, p=.024) and the mentum-to-thyroid cartilage notch distance (dMT) (B=0.347, p=.028) were significantly associated with tunneling time (p=.006).

conclusionTunneling time was associated with skin thickness over the thyroid cartilage notch and the mentum-to-thyroid cartilage notch distance. These exploratory findings may inform future studies on patient selection and technical difficulty in TORTVA, particularly for surgeons early in the learning curve.

Indexed as

Anatomical measurementsMentum-to-thyroid cartilage notch distanceSkin-to-thyroid cartilage notch thicknessTransoral robotic thyroidectomyTunneling time

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PMID42618775

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