Robotic Facelift Thyroidectomy

The use of minimally invasive and endoscopic thyroidectomy techniques has become widespread. However, these procedures all result in a visible neck incision. Several remote access thyroidectomy approaches that place the necessary incision in inconspicuous, noncervical locations have recently been described. Robotic facelift thyroidectomy uses a facelift incision in the postauricular area to provide entry to the thyroid compartment. Robotic facelift thyroidectomy has been shown to be feasible and safe and an increasing number of institutions have begun to offer it to selected patients. This article describes the indications, technical details, outcomes, and potential complications of this procedure.