ABSTRACT
Thyroid lobectomy and total thyroidectomy are some of the most common head and neck procedures. Broadly speaking, these are performed for two basic reasons – either there is a confirmed or high enough suspicion for pathology to merit surgical removal or the patient suffers from the overall size of the gland. The vascular supply to the thyroid gland is composed of paired superior and inferior thyroid arteries and veins and a lone middle thyroid vein on both sides. Anatomically relevant nerves in the region include the bilateral external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve, which provides motor function to the cricothyroid muscle, and the recurrent laryngeal nerves, which are responsible for the remaining intrinsic laryngeal muscles. The operative setup for the Sistrunk procedure mirrors that of the thyroidectomy with regards to patient positioning. The neural integrity monitor need not be used during this operation, as the recurrent laryngeal nerves should not be approached.
