[A comparative study of gasless transoral vestibular robotic surgery and traditional open surgery for resection of thyroglossal duct cysts].

<b>Objective:</b> To compare the clinical efficacies of gasless transoral vestibular robotic surgery and open surgery for the treatment of thyroglossal duct cysts. <b>Methods:</b> A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients with thyroglossal duct cysts who underwent surgical treatment in the Department of Otolaryngology at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University from August 2020 to October 2023. According to the differences in surgical methods, patients were divided into a robotic surgery group and an open surgery group. Statistical analysis was conducted on demographic data, surgical time, bleeding volumes, drainage volumes, postoperative complications, scar conditions, postoperative aesthetic scores, and recurrence rates of the two groups of patients. For normally distributed measurement data, inter-group comparison was done via independent-sample <i>t</i>-test. For non-normally distributed data, Mann-Whitney <i>U</i> test was applied. Comparisons of composition ratios or rates were performed using the <i>χ</i>² test or Fisher's exact probability method. <b>Results:</b> A total of 44 patients with thyroglossal duct cysts who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included, including 22 males and 22 females, aged from 3 to 73 years old. Both the robotic surgery group and the open surgery group had respectively 22 cases. The maximum diameter of tumors of the open surgery group was 3.45(2.50, 4.00) cm, while the robotic surgery group measured 2.50 (2.10, 3.20) cm, with the open group demonstrating significantly larger tumor dimensions compared to the robotic group (<i>Z</i>=-2.329, <i>P</i><0.05). Compared to the open surgery group, the robotic surgery group showed significantly more surgical time [105.00 (95.00, 135.00) min <i>vs</i>. 65.00(58.75, 76.25) min, <i>Z</i>=-5.377, <i>P</i><0.05], postoperative hospitalization time [4.00 (3.75, 5.00) days <i>vs</i>. 3.00(2.00, 4.00) days, <i>Z</i>=-3.202, <i>P</i><0.05] and bleeding volume [20.00 (10.00, 20.00) ml <i>vs</i>. 5.00 (5.00, 10.00) ml, <i>Z</i>=-4.769, <i>P</i><0.05], but had less scar length [0 cm <i>vs</i>. 4.00 (2.00, 5.00) cm, <i>Z</i>=-6.097, <i>P</i><0.05] and better postoperative cosmetic satisfaction [10.00 (10.00, 10.00) <i>vs</i>. 8.00 (6.75, 8.00), <i>Z</i>=-5.221, <i>P</i><0.05]. With follow-up of 10.0-48.0 months, both the robotic surgery group and the open surgery group showed no recurrence. There was no significant difference in the follow-up time between the two groups (<i>Z</i>=-0.224, <i>P</i>=0.823). <b>Conclusion:</b> Gasless transoral vestibular robotic surgery is safe and feasible for the treatment of thyroglossal duct cysts, with efficacy comparable to traditional surgery, which can provide a new option for the treatment of thyroglossal duct cysts.