[Sportschosun, Jang Jong-ho] Ain Hospital announced on the 28th that its Thyroid Cancer Center, headed by Lee Jin-wook, had published a study analyzing 500 cases of Single-Port Robotic Areolar Thyroidectomy (SPRA) as a full research article in Updates in Surgery, an SCIE-indexed international surgical journal.
The study analyzed 500 consecutive cases of single-port areolar approach robotic surgery performed by a single surgeon using the da Vinci SP robotic surgical system from December 2022 to January 2026.
The cases included 384 partial thyroidectomies, 79 total thyroidectomies, 15 lymph node dissections for patients whose thyroid cancer had spread to the cervical lymph nodes, 11 reoperations, and 10 parathyroid surgeries.
Among the patients, 0.6% experienced temporary impairment of vocal cord movement after surgery, while 0.2% developed permanent vocal cord paralysis. The analysis indicated that SPRA could significantly reduce vocal cord paralysis compared with conventional surgical methods. Early hypoparathyroidism that persisted at two weeks occurred in 6.6% of cases.
In lymph node dissections performed on patients whose thyroid cancer had spread to the cervical lymph nodes, an average of 31 lymph nodes were removed, with metastasis confirmed in an average of 8.7 nodes. Postoperative thyroid tumor markers also remained low. These findings suggest that single-port robotic surgery could be used for a range of thyroid and neck procedures, including lymph node dissections, reoperations, and parathyroid surgeries, rather than being limited to straightforward thyroidectomies.
The medical team explained that the study was significant because it assessed postoperative complications, recovery, vocal cord function, and parathyroid function together, thereby confirming the technical scope and short-term safety of single-port robotic surgery.
Lee Jin-wook, director of the Thyroid Cancer Center, said, "This study is meaningful because it objectively analyzed data from 500 surgeries performed over three years. We will continue to strive to perform surgeries that place patient safety first."
Meanwhile, Lee Jin-wook was a member of the medical team that first successfully performed the SPRA procedure in the world. He currently trains medical professionals from South Korea and abroad in the technique and works to pass on his surgical expertise.
Jang Jong-ho, Reporter bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
