News Release

February 24, 2011

For more information, call:
Dennis Gimmil – (405)271-7900, X3

OU Medical Center surgeon believed to be first in region to use this robot-assisted approach which leaves no visible scar following surgery

OKLAHOMA CITY –  Call it fate, call it coincidence, or even call it blind luck; but a chance MRI ordered by a chiropractor to determine the source of Natalie Syring’s back pain, resulted in the discovery of a tumor in the Edmond woman’s thyroid – and ultimately led her to a surgeon at OU Medical Center  and to becoming one of the first people in the region to have a thyroid tumor removed through the arm pit.

For several months, Syring had been experiencing tenderness when she touched her neck.  However, she was not too concerned because she could never feel a lump and the pain was only slight.

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“The main symptoms were tenderness in the neck area,” said Syring.  “I would feel it and wonder what it was, and then I would kind of forget about it.”

Syring, who is a music and oral skills instructor at the University of Central Oklahoma and Oklahoma Christian College, had been seeing a chiropractor for some time in an effort to relieve pain she had been experiencing in her back.  Puzzled by the lack of progress with the treatment, the chiropractor ordered an MRI to look for abnormalities ... And abnormalities were indeed found, but not in her back.

“The doctor’s office called me and said ‘your back is fine. But, by the way, we found a right thyroid mass’,” recounted Syring.  “Without the MRI, I would have never found the tumor, it was a total coincidence.”

What followed was a series of tests, ultrasounds and a needle biopsy to determine exactly what was growing around her thyroid. The growth was clearly visible on diagnostic studies, but the biopsy of the mass was inconclusive.

Syring was initially referred to a general surgeon, but she wanted a physician who specialized in the treatment of the head and neck.  As fate would have it, her husband was a previous patient of OU Physicians’ Ear, Nose and Throat department. So Syring decided to make an appointment with the group. And that is how she met Nilesh Vasan, MD, an ear, nose and throat surgeon at OU Medical Center who presented her with a unique option.

“After looking at her tests results and examining her, we had several alternatives,” said Vasan.  “The first option was to watch the area and see if it worsened over time.  The second option was to remove the tumor. Since the biopsy test results came back inconclusive, we decided the best action was to remove the tumor.”

If the tumor was not removed and worsened, Vasan explained it could eventually cause symptoms including swelling and pressure on the voice box, difficulty swallowing and difficulty breathing – which would be devastating for Syring, who, in addition teaching music, plays the flute in live performances across the state.

Vasan then presented Syring with one more option. He could remove the growth through a traditional procedure which would result in a large scar on her neck or she could be one of the first in the region to choose a brand-new surgical option.

With the new approach, Vasan, utilizing the da Vinci-Si high definition robotic-assisted surgical system, would be able to remove the tumor through a small incision in the arm pit, leaving her with no visible scars afterward.  Syring found that option most appealing.

In the robot-assisted thyroid surgery, the surgeon sits at a console grasping the master controls and the da Vinci-Si system seamlessly translates his hand, wrist and finger movements into precise, real-time movements of the surgical instruments.  The instruments are inserted in the folds of the arm pit through a two-inch incision.  The robotic arms are carefully guided along the chest muscles over the clavicle bone and to the thyroid.  Because of the da Vinci-Si robotic system displays a highly-magnified HD three-dimensional (3D) image, important small structures like nerves and glands can be seen easily and avoided during the surgery.  In addition, the surgeon can better ensure the entire removal of the tumor because his visibility is so greatly enhanced.

When comparing traditional open surgical techniques and the robot-assisted surgery thyroid surgery, patient outcomes are virtually identical in terms of recovery time, how quickly patients return to normal activities time and surgical success rates.  The biggest difference is the robot-assisted approach leaves no visible scar.

“She looked the same on her neck before and after the surgery, that is amazing,” said Vasan.  “This type of surgery is very specialized.  There are only a handful of centers like OU across the country that are doing this kind of surgical technique.”

In the end, tests results on the mass removed from Syring’s thyroid area revealed cancers cells in the earliest stages of development.  However, because the tumor was removed so early, the cells were still premature and no further treatment is needed for Syring.

Thyroid Cancer and Tumor Information and Statistics

• The thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland at the base of the neck.
• Using the essential nutrient iodine, the thyroid produces hormones that regulate every aspect of a person’s metabolism – from heart rate to how quickly calories are burned
• An estimated 45,000 Americans develop thyroid cancer each year
• Thyroid disease is more common in women than men
• Thyroid disease is usually diagnosed between the ages of 30-50
• The vast majority of thyroid tumors are not cancerous
• Symptoms of thyroid disease include pain that extends to the ears, hoarseness, trouble swallowing, breathing problems and a persistent unexplained cough