Preoperative prediction and intraoperative treatment of nonrecurrent laryngeal nerve        ZHANG Ping, ZHANG Hao，LI Xuan,et al. Department of General Surgery, the First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, China.
Corresponding author: ZHANG Hao，E-mail: haozhang@mail.cmu.edu.cn
Abstract    Objective    To evaluate preoperative judgment and intraoperative identification of nonrecurrent laryngeal nerve (NRLN) during thyroidectomy. Methods    The clinical data of 4 cases of thyroid surgery associated with a right NRLN from August 2008 to February 2010 in the Department of Vascular and thyroid, the First Hospital of China Medical University were analyzed retrospectively. Results    The preoperative CT scan showed a retroesophageal aberrant right subclavian artery in all 4 cases. They had identification of TypeⅡA NRLN on the right side. Postoperatively, the patient had normal vocal cord function on laryngoscopy. Conclusions    It is possible to predict preoperatively a right NRLN by identifying an aberrant right subclavian artery on the CT film of the neck, which likely enabled the prevention of vocal cord paralysis.