Perioperative outcomes of bilateral axillo-breast approach robotic thyroidectomy (BABART) versus minimally invasive thyroidectomy (MIT): a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Minimally invasive thyroidectomy (MIT) is increasingly being used for the thyroid tumors. The comparison of bilateral axillo-breast approach robotic thyroidectomy (BABART) with other MIT has not yet led to a unified conclusion with regard to surgical outcomes. To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature on the surgical outcomes of BABART compared with MIT. We performed a systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library database for randomized control trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs that compare BABART to MIT. The primary outcomes included perioperative, postoperative complications. The odds ratio (OR) and mean difference (MD) were applied for the comparison of dichotomous and continuous variables with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Nine studies, comprising 3645 patients, were included in the meta-analysis. Our findings indicated that there were no significant differences in hospital stay, number of retrieved lymph nodes, recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury, and vocal cord dysfunction between BABRT and MIT. However, BABART was associated with a shorter operation time (MD =  - 21.45 min, 95% CI [- 47.27, 4.38], p = 0.1) and lower rate of permanent hypoparathyroidism (OR = 0.42, 95% CI [0.20, 0.88], p = 0.02). Additionally, the MIT group had reduced postoperative pain score (MD = 0.45, 95% CI [0.02, 0.88], p = 0.04) and lower rate of hypocalcemia (OR = 2.31, 95% CI [1.04, 5.13], p = 0.04) than the BABART group. In comparison with MIT, BABART exhibits better results in terms of operative time and the rate of permanent hypoparathyroidism, with no significant difference in hospital stay, number of retrieved lymph nodes, RLN injury, and vocal cord dysfunction. However, the postoperative pain score and the rate of hypocalcemia of MIT are slightly better that of BABART.