Author(s)

Abdoulaye Kanté^1,2*, Babou Ba², Youssouf Sidibé³, Drissa Ouattara¹, Bréhima Bengaly¹, Bréhima Coulibaly¹, Drissa Traoré¹, Mariam Daou⁴, Tata Touré², Siaka Diallo¹, Amady Diakalia Coulibaly⁵, Mamadou Alymami Keita⁶, Souleymane Sanogo⁶, Djibril Traoré¹, Moustapha Issa Magané⁷, Ousmane Ibrahim Touré¹, Idrissa Tounkara⁴, Abdoulaye Diarra⁴, Bakary Keita⁷, Timbely Guidérè⁶, Birama Togola¹, Nouhoum Ongoïba^1,2

¹Service of Surgery, CHU, Bamako, Mali.
²Laboratory of Anatomy of the Faculty of Medicine and Odontostomatology, Bamako, Mali.
³ENT and Head and Neck Surgery Department, CHU Mother-Child “Luxembourg”, Bamako, Mali.
⁴Service of Neurology, CHU Gabriel Touré, Bamako, Mali.
⁵Department of Stomatology and Maxillofacial Surgery, CHU-CNOS, Bamako, Mali.
⁶Service of General Surgery, CHU Gabriel Touré, Bamako, Mali.
⁷Service of Anesthesia and Resuscitation, CHU Gabriel Touré, Bamako, Mali.

Purpose: Our purpose was to describe the anatomy of the external branch of the upper laryngeal nerve and to estimate the frequency of nerves at risk during the total thyroidectomies sub. Methodology: We realized in the CHU Point G in Bamako a forward-looking study over a period going from September 1st, 2016 till December 31st, 2017. All the patients operated by thyroidectomies subtotals for mild goiters were included to whom a systematic location of the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve in the space avascular of Reeve was realized. Cancers and other thyroid pathologies were not included. Results: We counted and operated 120 cases of mild goiters. The external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve was seen and dissected in 80.8%; it was not seen in 19.2%. According to the classification of Cernea: the type 2 was found in 80.8% of the cases with him under typical 2b in 47.5% and under type 2a in 40 (33.3%). The global frequency of lesion of the external branch of the upper laryngeal nerve was 10.8% at 9 patients among whom 6 who presented a BENLS of Type Ni. Conclusion: The external branch of the upper laryngeal nerve of type 2 presents a risk of wound because the surgeon treats the upper pedicle at the level of the critical centimeter place over the upper pole of the thyroid. The identification of the nerve during the thyroid surgery is the solution of choice.

External Branch of the Laryngeal Superior Nerve, Anatomy, Thyroid Surgery

Kanté, A. , Ba, B. , Sidibé, Y. , Ouattara, D. , Bengaly, B. , Coulibaly, B. , Traoré, D. , Daou, M. , Touré, T. , Diallo, S. , Coulibaly, A. , Keita, M. , Sanogo, S. , Traoré, D. , Magané, M. , Touré, O. , Tounkara, I. , Diarra, A. , Keita, B. , Guidérè, T. , Togola, B. and Ongoïba, N. (2018) External Branch of the Superior Laryngeal Nerve: Anatomy and Operating Hurts. International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, 7, 388-395. doi: 10.4236/ijohns.2018.76039.