{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,9]],"date-time":"2026-05-09T09:19:25Z","timestamp":1778318365414,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Annali Italiani di Chirurgia","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,10]],"date-time":"2026-05-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778371200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Ann. Ital. Chir."],"abstract":"<jats:p>AIM: Transoral robotic thyroidectomy has emerged as a scarless alternative to conventional and remote-access approaches; however, technical standardization and outcome data for truly scarless three-port configurations remain limited. The aim of this study was to describe the surgical technique and early clinical outcomes of three-port transoral robotic thyroidectomy (TORT) as a truly scarless remote-access approach to the thyroid gland. METHODS: This technical note reports a consecutive series of 25 patients who underwent three-port transoral robotic thyroidectomy between June 2017 and May 2019 at Korea University Hospital. Surgical steps, including vestibular port placement, working-space creation, robotic docking, and lobectomy procedures, are detailed. Perioperative data, postoperative outcomes, and complications were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The median age was 41.0 years, and 76.0% of patients were female. Unilateral thyroidectomy was performed in 80.0% of cases, and central neck dissection in 52.0%. The median operative time was 308.0 minutes, with minimal blood loss (3.0 mL). No intraoperative complications occurred. Transient hypoparathyroidism and recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy were observed in 4.0% of patients each, while one permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (4.0%) was recorded. No cases of mental nerve injury or surgical site infection were observed. Postoperative pain was low, and the median hospital stay was 3 days. CONCLUSIONS: Three-port transoral robotic thyroidectomy is a feasible and safe technique in carefully selected patients when performed in experienced centers. Despite a prolonged operative time during the initial learning phase, complication rates were acceptable and cosmetic outcomes were excellent. This approach should currently be reserved for high-volume endocrine robotic units under strict indication criteria and structured training pathways.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.62713\/aic.4464","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,9]],"date-time":"2026-05-09T09:03:07Z","timestamp":1778317387000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Three-Port Transoral Robotic Thyroidectomy: Technical Description and Early Outcomes"],"prefix":"10.62713","volume":"97","author":[{"given":"Francesco","family":"Brucchi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of General Surgery, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Istituto Auxologico Italiano, 20145 Milan, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Carla","family":"Colombo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy"},{"name":"Division of Endocrinology, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Istituto Auxologico Italiano, 20145 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hoon Yub","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, KUMC Thyroid Center, Korea University Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, 02841 Seoul, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Gianlorenzo","family":"Dionigi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of General Surgery, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Istituto Auxologico Italiano, 20145 Milan, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"48935","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,10]]},"container-title":["Annali Italiani di Chirurgia"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.annaliitalianidichirurgia.it\/journal\/AIC\/97\/5\/10.62713\/aic.4464","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,9]],"date-time":"2026-05-09T09:03:08Z","timestamp":1778317388000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.annaliitalianidichirurgia.it\/journal\/AIC\/97\/5\/10.62713\/aic.4464"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,10]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"5","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026]]}},"alternative-id":["S0003-469X(26)00094-0"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.62713\/aic.4464","relation":{},"ISSN":["0003-469X","2239-253X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0003-469X","type":"print"},{"value":"2239-253X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,10]]},"article-number":"942"}}