NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., August 22, 2018 — Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian is the first hospital in Southern California to perform the scarless transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy procedure. Hoag is one of the first hospitals in the nation where this innovative technique is available.
The minimally invasive approach eliminates visible scars by making three small incisions inside the mouth between the gum line and lower lip where surgeons can then use an endoscope to remove the thyroid gland.
“At Hoag we are always working to learn innovative techniques and the latest surgical advancements that can benefit our patients,” said Michael Demeure, M.D. F.A.C.S., M.B.A., F.A.C.E., endocrine surgeon and program director for Hoag Precision Medicine. “When compared to the conventional approach, performed through a two-inch opening in the neck, this option provides the cosmetic benefit of no visible scar.”
Surgeons Michael Demeure, M.D., and Colleen Coleman, M.D., performed the first two transoral endoscopic thyroidectomies on the same day in March 2018 and have completed additional procedures since.
The transoral thyroidectomy was developed by a surgeon in Bangkok, Thailand. Other surgical methods, which involve making incisions through the breast and underarm, have higher rates of complications.
“The patients who have undergone this procedure were excited to be among the ‘first, appreciating the lack of a scar on their neck,’” Dr. Coleman said. “But given the positive outcomes, I expect this will catch on. Eventually, this new approach might become a standard approach.”
ABOUT HOAG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PRESBYTERIAN
Hoag is an approximately $1 billion nonprofit, regional health care delivery network in Orange County, California, that treats more than 30,000 inpatients and 425,000 outpatients annually. Hoag consists of two acute-care hospitals – Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, which opened in 1952, and Hoag Hospital Irvine, which opened in 2010 – in addition to eight health centers and 11 urgent care centers. Hoag is a designated Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Hoag offers a comprehensive blend of health care services that includes five institutes providing specialized services in the following areas: cancer, heart and vascular, neurosciences, women’s health, and orthopedics through Hoag’s affiliate, Hoag Orthopedic Institute, which consists of an orthopedic hospital and two ambulatory surgical centers. In 2013, Hoag entered into an alliance with St. Joseph Health to further expand health care services in the Orange County community, known as St. Joseph Hoag Health. Hoag has been named one of the Best Regional Hospitals in the 2018 – 2019 U.S. News & World Report, and Becker’s Healthcare named Hoag as one of the 2018 “100 Great Hospitals in America” – a designation Hoag has received five times. For an unprecedented 22 years, residents of Orange County have chosen Hoag as one of the county’s best hospitals in a local newspaper survey. Visit www.hoag.org for more information.
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