Redefining Scarless Thyroid Surgery in the U.S.
By Dr. Eyas Alkhalili
For decades, thyroid surgery meant a visible incision across the neck. Now, a groundbreaking robotic technique is changing that story. At the Hospital for Endocrine Surgery in Tampa, Dr. Eyas Alkhalili and Dr. Joshua Ziehm became the first in the United States to perform a new version of scarless thyroid surgery using the da Vinci Single-Port (SP) system.
Instead of using multiple robotic arms through several openings, the SP system uses a single 2.5 cm incision hidden in the underarm, giving the surgeon full 3-D control with miniaturized, flexible instruments. In the team’s first 68 patients, there were no complications, no conversions to open surgery, and no cases of hoarseness or bleeding. Average operating time dropped from over two hours to just over an hour as the team’s experience grew.
The result? Patients go home the same day, recover faster, and never see a neck scar. This work marks a major milestone: the first large-scale experience of single-port robotic thyroidectomy in the U.S., setting a new benchmark for precision, safety, and cosmetic excellence in thyroid surgery.
