Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bülent Dinç from the General Surgery Clinic of ANTALYA Training and Research Hospital and Specialist Dr. Mehmet İlker Turan from the General Surgery Clinic of Kepez State Hospital remove the thyroid gland or nodules with a surgery they perform through the area between the lower lip and the teeth. In 6 months, 25 patients regained their health with this method.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bülent Dinç, who performs closed-method thyroid surgeries through the mouth together with Specialist Dr. Mehmet İlker Turan, stated that this method has many advantages. Emphasizing that there is no scar on the neck in such surgeries, Assoc. Prof. Dinç said, "In addition, the likelihood of damaging the vocal cords and the nerve is lower. The risk of infection that may occur in open surgery is low. The patient feels less pain. The patient’s return to normal life is also shorter compared to open surgery," he said.
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'Now Limits Can Be Overcome'
Assoc. Prof. Dinç also drew attention to the fact that there are certain limitations in thyroid surgeries performed through the mouth, and continued his words as follows:
"Especially in those who have had previous neck surgery, those who have received radiotherapy in the neck region, and patients with nodules over 5-6 centimeters, we do not perform these surgeries. In those with a suspected cancerous nodule, if the nodule is over 2 centimeters, we do not recommend this surgery. However, it is now stated that these limits can be overcome with certain experiences we have gained and in the latest publications of world literature. Now, different methods have begun to be tried in the world to remove the nodule. The surgeries are still performed through the mouth in the same way, but the nodule is removed through the armpit."
Stating that there are still many patients waiting to have thyroid surgery with this type of method, Assoc. Prof. Dinç said, "We currently have a patient with an 11-centimeter nodule. We are keeping them waiting at this stage, but in the future we plan to clear this nodule with the method of removing it through the armpit," he said.
'We Operated On 25 Patients With This Method In 6 Months'
Specialist Dr. Mehmet İlker Turan stated that they perform thyroid gland surgeries through the mouth at Kepez State Hospital, and said, "My teacher Bülent comes from the Training and Research Hospital and we perform the surgeries together. To date, we have performed 25 surgeries in a period of 6 months. We have many patients waiting in line. We are one of the 3 centers in Turkey where this surgery is performed and continued. In our country, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine Hospital, Ege University Hospital, and us perform it. In the world, we are one of 32 centers. In Europe, it was only being performed in Italy, now it has started in Germany. In this sense, Turkey is a country that leads Europe," he said.
Patients Are Comfortable And At Ease
Turkish Language and Literature Teacher Zehra Ertaş Ekizoğlu (30), who was operated on by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bülent Dinç and Specialist Dr. Mehmet İlker Turan, said that although 9 days have passed since her surgery, she feels extremely comfortable. Noting that it was coincidentally determined that she had a nodule in her thyroid gland at the hospital she went to for another complaint, Ekizoğlu said, "When a biopsy was recommended, during this period I researched which hospital and physician we could go to and we came here," she said. Stating that the biopsy result showed that the nodule was suspicious for cancer, Ekizoğlu said, “It was said that the nodule needed to be removed. My doctors recommended closed surgery to me. I had never heard of it before. I am a Turkish Language and Literature teacher, and frankly, I did not want my vocal cords to be damaged. Not having a scar was an additional nice benefit. One day after the surgery, I was consuming liquid foods. Two days later, I started being able to eat everything, increasing gradually. My vocal cords were not damaged," she said. Ekizoğlu also stated that she feels extremely healthy.
