ENERGY DEVICES IN THYROID SURGERY

Precise hemostasis is essential in any surgery. Historically, the placement of vascular ligatures of the large thyroid arteries and veins by Theodor Kocher in his thyroid procedures not only sharply reduced the mortality rates, but also made them safe and became the gold standard for more than 100 years. New energy devices for tissue and vascular dissection were introduced in the modern thyroid surgery in the last two decades.Aim: The aim of this paper to present modern energy devices for resection and hemostasis used in present-day thyroid surgery, as well as our experience of working with them.Materials and Methods: Different energy devices used in over 2 800 surgical patients are presented. They are used both in conventional and in minimally invasive open and video-assisted thyroid surgery.Results: The reliability, safety, and duration of the operation, as well as the possibilities to minimize tissue trauma at every used energy device are discussed.Conclusions: In modern thyroid surgery, the novel energy devices for tissue dissection demonstrate their effectiveness and safety. They enable the use of minimally invasive surgical techniques in thyroid surgery. Despite the increase of the cost of the surgery, they significantly reduce the operative time and the length of hospital stay of the patient.