Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Radiol. Jun 28, 2023; 15(6): 182-190
Published online Jun 28, 2023. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v15.i6.182
Computed tomography angiographic study of surgical anatomy of thyroid arteries: Clinical implications in neck dissection
Yashu Bhardwaj, Brijendra Singh, Pooja Bhadoria, Rashmi Malhotra, Swarnava Tarafdar, Kanchan Bisht
Yashu Bhardwaj, Brijendra Singh, Pooja Bhadoria, Rashmi Malhotra, Kanchan Bisht, Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh 249203, Uttarakhand, India
Swarnava Tarafdar, Department of Radiodiagnosis, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh 249203, Uttarakhand, India
Author contributions: All the authors have contributed significantly to this work; Singh B, Bhadoria P and Malhotra R designed the research study; Bhardwaj Y and Tarafdar S performed the research; Bhardwaj Y, Malhotra R and Bisht K analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: Following the approval of Institutional Ethics Committee, with ethical clearance number AIIMS/IEC/21/323, CT angiographic data from 64-slice CT scanner and 128-slice CT scanner were collected from the Department of Radiodiagnosis.
Informed consent statement: A waiver was granted by our Institutional Ethics committee as this is a retrospective study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: Anonymization of data will be maintained.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Rashmi Malhotra, MS, Additional Professor, Department of Anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Veerbhadra Road, Rishikesh 249201, Uttarakhand, India. rashmi.ana@aiimsrishikesh.edu.in
Received: March 1, 2023
Peer-review started: March 1, 2023
First decision: April 13, 2023
Revised: April 27, 2023
Accepted: May 30, 2023
Article in press: May 30, 2023
Published online: June 28, 2023
Processing time: 117 Days and 3 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

The course and variations of thyroid arteries must be understood by surgeons to prevent bleeding during operative procedures of the thyroid gland. There is limited scientific literature regarding the radiological anatomy of thyroid arteries in this geographical area, the Garhwal region of Sub-Himalayan belt, which is considered to be the endemic belt of goiter. Computed tomography angiography provides a three-dimensional orientation of the vascular and surgical anatomy of the entire cervical region.

AIM

To estimate the proportion of variation in origin of thyroid arteries using Computed Tomography Angiography.

METHODS

Using Computed Tomography Angiography, the presence and origin of the superior thyroid artery, inferior thyroid artery, and thyroid ima artery were observed and assessed.

RESULTS

Out of total 210 subjects, superior thyroid artery was seen to be emerging from external carotid artery in 77.1% cases. The artery was found to be originating at the level of bifurcation of common carotid artery in 14.3% cases, whereas in 8.6% cases, it emerged as a direct branch of the common carotid artery. Similarly, the inferior thyroid artery was observed to be emerging from thyrocervical trunk, subclavian artery and vertebral artery in 95.7% cases, 3.3% and 1% cases, respectively. Thyroid ima artery was also reported in a subject, arising from the brachiocephalic trunk.

CONCLUSION

To avoid vascular injuries, excessive and uncontrollable bleeding, intra-operative difficulties, and post-operative issues, it is imperative for surgeons to be aware of the course and variations of thyroid arteries

Keywords: Thyroid arteries; Computed tomography angiography; Origin; Variation

Core Tip: To avoid vascular injuries, excessive and uncontrollable bleeding, intra-operative difficulties, and post-operative issues, it is imperative for surgeons to be aware of the course and variations of thyroid arteries. The current study will assist the surgeons in understanding the variation in thyroid arteries among people of Garhwal and west Uttar Pradesh region in a non-invasive manner using computed tomography angiography.