Superior Laryngeal Nerve Injury in Thyroidectomy Surgery

Authors

  • Taufiq Urahman
  • Sunarto Reksoprawiro

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37506/ijfmt.v15i2.14463

Keywords:

external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve, superior thyroideal vasa, thyroidectomy, SKCEBSLN

Abstract

Introduction: The thyroid gland is one of the endocrine glands with the most frequent disorders or diseases
compared to other endocrine glands. Treatment of these disorders is generally performed by surgery or
called a thyroidectomy. Thyroidectomy surgery can pose a risk of complications, both early complications,
and late complications. Common complications are hemorrhage, hypoparathyroidism, recurrent laryngeal
nerve injury, and external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve.
Purpose: To analyze the effect of the surgical method of superior thyroideal vasa ligation as distally as
possible on the prevention of injury to the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve (EBSLN) in
thyroidectomy.
Methods: Clinical trial study with pre and post-test design in patients undergoing thyroidectomy surgery.
Patients were examined using a questionnaire of the injury-related voice of EBSLN (SKC-EBSLN), which
tested the validity and reliability of the previous test and measured 1-octave sound ability before and after
thyroidectomy surgery using the superior thyroidectomy vasa ligation method as distally as possible to see
its effect on EBLSN function and tone ability function.
Results: There were differences in the scores of the SKC-EBSLN questionnaire before and after
thyroidectomy surgery using the method of superior thyroideal vasa ligation as distally as possible (p
<0.05). Further analysis showed that clinical diagnosis, surgery, tumor size, and AP outcome did not have
a statistically significant effect on the postoperative SKC-EBSLN score (p> 0.05). In this study, the SKCEBSLN score had a significant effect on the 1-octave tone ability (p <0.05).
Conclusion: As many as 51.9% of patients had a normal voice condition with few complaints and were
able to sing 1-octave tone after surgery using the method of superior thyroidal vasa ligation as distally as
possible. The SKC-EBSLN questionnaire is a valid and reliable questionnaire to evaluate the results of
thyroidectomy surgery.

Author Biographies

  • Taufiq Urahman

    Trainee of Head and Neck Surgery

  • Sunarto Reksoprawiro

    Staff of Head and Neck Surgery Division, Department of Surgery, Faculty of
    Medicine of Universitas Airlangga/RSUD Dr. Soetomo Surabaya

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Published

2021-03-24

How to Cite

Superior Laryngeal Nerve Injury in Thyroidectomy Surgery. (2021). Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, 15(2), 1076-1084. https://doi.org/10.37506/ijfmt.v15i2.14463