Premature Division of the Inferior Laryngeal Nerve in Surgery and in ENT and Cervico-Facial Surgery in Mali

The purpose of this study was to study the frequency of premature division of the inferior laryngeal nerve and its consequences in thyroid surgery. Methodology: We realized a forward-looking and retrospective study from January, 1979 till December, 2017 in the service of surgery B to the University hospital of the Point G of Bamako and in the service of ENT and cervico-facial surgery of the CHU “mother-child”, the Luxembourg of Bamako (Mali). All the patients operated in both services for mild goiters were included. Cancers and other thyroid pathologies were not included. The diagnosis of mild goiter was paused by the histological examination realized on all the surgical specimens. Results: On 2109 dissections of the lower laryngeal nerve realized during the surgical operations on the thyroid 95.1% of the cases, the nerve had a single branch; in 4.1% of the cases, the nerve had two branches; and in 0.8% of the cases, the nerve had more than 2 branches. Conclusion: The complications of the thyroid surgery in touch with the hurts of the lower laryngeal nerve are known. However, our study shows that these do not seem to be influenced by the premature division of the lower laryngeal nerve.