Role of Intraoperative Nerve Monitoring in Thyroid Surgery: A Comparative Study

Nerve monitoring is an essential part of thyroid, parotid and vestibular Schwannoma surgery in the present era. The use of nerve monitor while operating can reduce the damage to these vital structures. The recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) is the most important structure at risk during thyroidectomy. Damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) during thyroid surgery can result in voice changes and aspiration. Intra-operative nerve monitoring (IONM) has become one the most widely used adjunct for identifying the RLN and allows real-time identification and functional assessment of the RLN in the operative field. The basic aim of this study is nerve monitoring during thyroid surgery in order to avoid RLN injury. This prospective cohort study was performed in the Department of Otorhino-laryngology, MBS Hospital, Medical College Kota, and Rajasthan from 01 August 2018 to 31st Dec. 2020. The study concludes with, no significant difference was seen to nerve damage in thyroid disease among nerve monitoring and without nerve monitoring cases. IONM seemed to have impact over duration of surgery, significantly lower in nerve monitoring cases. No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay among the two groups. Use of IONM is quite debated topic and still consensus is underway.