Abstract:
Objective To investigate the effect of IONM on the identification and protection of external branch of superior laryngeal nerve（EBSLN）in thyroid surgery.
Methods The clinical data of 85 patients undergoing thyroid surgery from January 2019 to July 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. According to whether IONM was used to monitor EBSLN during surgery，they were divided into the monitoring group（n=46 cases）and the non-monitoring group（n=39 cases）. SPSS 20.0 was used for statistical analysis. Measurement data such as voice impairment index scale（VHI-10）were expressed as（
±
s），and independent t-test was performed between groups. The identification rate of EBSLN was compared between groups by
χ2 test.
P<0.05 was statistically significant.
Results The visual recognition rate of the monitoring group was significantly lower than IONM assisted recognition（59.0% vs 91.0%，P=0.000）.The gross recognition rate of EBSLN in the upper pole was lower in both groups than in other positions（P<0.05）. IONM assisted，the EBSLN recognition rate was higher in the monitoring group than that in the naked eye（91.0% vs 46.2%，P<0.05）. The incidence of temporary injury in the monitoring group was lower than that in the non-monitoring group（4.3% vs 17.9%，P<0.05）. The VHI-10 score in the monitoring group was significantly lower than that in the non-monitoring group at 1 week and 3 months postoperatively（P<0.05）.
Conclusion IONM in thyroid surgery can effectively improve the EBSLN recognition rate，reduce the risk of intraoperative injury，improve the vocal dysfunction of patients，which has more important significance for EBSLN recognition and functional integrity protection in tumor surgery located in the upper pole of the thyroid.
Key words:
Thyroidectomy,
Neural monitoring technology,
External branch of superior laryngeal nerve,
Identification and protection
Yi Wang, Lingmi Hou, Chang Diao, Pan Li. Identification and protection of the lateral branch of superior laryngeal nerve by nerve monitoring technique in thyroid surgery[J]. Chinese Journal of Operative Procedures of General Surgery(Electronic Edition), 2022, 16(01): 95-98.