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로봇 겨드랑이 접근 갑상선절제술 · Gasless transaxillary robotic thyroidectomy · Surgery

Gasless transaxillary robotic thyroidectomy

A 4–5 cm incision is made in the armpit and the robotic instruments travel through a tunnel under the skin to the neck to remove the thyroid. No neck scar; this is the most widely used robotic thyroid operation in Korea.

Background: Severance Hospital performed Korea's first da Vinci robotic operation in July 2005, and thyroid cancer is one of its main robotic surgery fields[1]

AdvantagesLimitations
No neck scar; The most experience in Korea; Little bleeding and painHigh cost; Requires a tunnel under the skin; Not suitable for tumors that are too large or have spread widely

Cost

RangeBasis
Koreaabout KRW 23–25 million (≈ CNY 121–132k)official pricePrice without Korean national health insurance (about KRW 23 million for hemithyroidectomy and 25 million for total thyroidectomy, excluding a superior ward), taking the Gibbeum Hospital website price of September 2026 as an example; university hospitals need to be asked through their international centers[2]
Chinaabout CNY 35khospital's figureRobot equipment fee only; the regular surgical fee is charged separately; not covered by medical insurance (popular-science article from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 2024)[3]

Used for

Thyroid cancer

Offered at

Severance Hospital, Yonsei University, Asan Medical Center, Seoul