Yonsei Cancer Hospital Surpasses 10,000 Cases of Thyroid Robotic Surgery

Yonsei Cancer Center's Thyroid Cancer Center recently announced on the 19th that it has surpassed 10,000 cases of thyroid robot surgery. This is the world's first record for robot surgery targeting a single organ.

Thyroid robot surgery.
Photo by Yonsei Medical Center

Since performing the world's first robot surgery using the Da Vinci system in October 2007, Yonsei Cancer Center's Thyroid Cancer Center has been steadily dedicated to developing surgical techniques and research for 16 years. Among the 10,000 cases, 9,461 were thyroid cancer, and 539 were benign thyroid diseases including hyperthyroidism.

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped organ located at the front of the neck and is an endocrine gland in our body. It secretes hormones that help the growth of newborns and children and promotes metabolic processes in the body to supply energy for activity.

Thyroid robot surgery approaches the surgical site not from the front of the neck where the thyroid is located, but through areas such as the axilla (armpit). Since no scars remain visibly on the neck, it has excellent cosmetic effects. The incision site is small, so the pain experienced by patients during the treatment process is relatively less.

Center Director Nam Ki-hyun said, "Since thyroid tumors occur in the neck, which is highly visible, patients often worry about surgical scars, making it one of the diseases with particular concerns." He added, "Yonsei Cancer Center's Thyroid Cancer Center empathizes with these patients' feelings and will do its best to develop cutting-edge surgical techniques that are cosmetically perfect and therapeutically safe using robots."

Yonsei Cancer Center's Thyroid Cancer Center plans to hold a symposium at Yonsei Cancer Center's Seoam Auditorium on the 21st to commemorate 10,000 cases of thyroid robot surgery.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.