A First For The West: Robotic-Assisted Surgery For Thyroid Tumor

Article Date: 16 Jul 2010 - 0:00 PDT

UC Irvine Healthcare is the first medical center on the West Coast and the only one in California to perform robotic thyroidectomies, a procedure that removes the diseased gland without leaving a visible scar on the neck. Dr. Jason Kim, associate clinical professor of otolaryngology and a head and neck cancer specialist, has performed robotic-assisted surgery using the daVinci Surgical System on three patients with thyroid tumors.

"We're excited to be able to offer this kind of surgery to the Orange County community and beyond," Kim said. "Traditional 'open' surgery to remove the thyroid gland requires a three- to five-inch incision across the front of the neck, and other minimally invasive surgical techniques can reduce the scar to about one inch. But using the robot, we avoid the neck incision altogether by making a small, easily hidden cut in the patient's armpit. That opening provides access for the robot's arms, which then are maneuvered by the surgeon to the thyroid bed."


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