Multinodular GoitreNCT01163565
A Prospective Randomized Equivalence Trial to Evaluate the Safety of the Ligasure in Thyroid Surgery
A study testing Ligasure Device in people with Multinodular Goitre and Grave's Disease, run by University of Alberta at 1 site in Canada.
Trial summary
This is a randomized, prospective equivalence trial on the safety of the Ligasure Vessel Sealing System as used in thyroid surgery. The Ligasure system is a hand held surgical device that uses heat to seal blood vessels during surgery. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 85 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Multinodular Goitre, Grave's Disease, Thyroid Nodule
- What is being tested?
- Ligasure Device
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 96 participants
- Where
- 1 siteCanada
- Study dates
- Apr 2010to Dec 2012
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 85 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- multinodular goiter
- Grave's disease
- thyroid nodule
Who cannot join
- thyroid carcinoma
- reoperative surgery
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Canada1 site
Walter C Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre
Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2B6
About this study
This is a randomized, prospective equivalence trial on the safety of the Ligasure Vessel Sealing System as used in thyroid surgery. The Ligasure system is a hand held surgical device that uses heat to seal blood vessels during surgery. It has been a tested and accepted technology in abdominal surgery and it is now being applied to surgery of the thyroid gland because it is faster than the traditional method of tying blood vessels that a surgeon must do manually. To remove the thyroid gland safely the surgeon must dissect the gland away from the recurrent laryngeal nerve which controls the vocal cords and patient's voice. Protecting this nerve is the key step in all thyroid surgery as its damage can permanently alter a patient's voice and even obstruct the airway. At this time the worldwide accepted rate of nerve injury is 2 in 100 patients. The hypothesis of this study is that the nerve injury rates for surgery using the Ligasure device are similar to that seen when surgeons manually tie blood vessels. The investigators protocol will evaluate the function of the recurrent laryngeal nerve after removing the thyroid gland using the Ligasure device in comparison to the traditional method where the surgeon manually ties blood vessels. In this study, for patients undergoing total thyroidectomy for a benign condition, each patient will be randomized to have one lobe of thyroid (left or right) removed using manual tying of blood vessels and the other side will have the surgeon use the Ligasure device to seal blood vessels. Every patient has a pre- and post-operative independent assessment of vocal cord function using nasopharyngoscopy to ensure that the vocal cords are working normally prior to surgery and also to document vocal cord dysfunction if there is an injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve. The investigators intent is to show that the Ligasure system is a safe method to sealing vessels in thyroid surgery and that the thermal dispersion of this device does not pose a significant increase in risk to the recurrent laryngeal nerve
Read the detailed description
Diathermy is an accepted modality to aid surgery and maintain hemostasis and is used in all forms of surgery including head and neck, neurosurgery and general surgery. The Ligasure vessel sealing system uses heat energy and has been approved for use in many different types of surgery and has been tested and accepted for use in multiple countries, including Canada. What is being tested in this proposal is the application of this accepted technology to thyroid surgery. There has been one previous randomized trial examining the Ligasure device in thyroid surgery but this was designed to look at operative times and bleeding episodes in comparison to manually tying blood vessels. It has been proven that the Ligasure device makes operations quicker and is just as effective at sealing blood vessels as manual tying by the surgeon. However, in thyroid surgery injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve is an important concern as the nerve is in close proximity to the gland. Damage to the nerve could temporarily or permanently alter a patient's voice making it hoarse. In this study we examine if the heat generated by the device could damage the recurrent laryngeal nerve if it is held close enough for prolonged time periods. There are case reports that indicate that the Ligasure is safe but this study intends in a prospective, randomized manner to prove that the use of the Ligasure system does not affect nerve injury rates compared to a surgeon manually tying blood vessels during thyroid surgery.
Our hypothesis is that the use of the Ligasure vessel sealing system in thyroid surgery is as safe as the traditional manual tying of blood vessels by the surgeon in terms of injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve.
We propose a randomized, prospective equivalence trail to compare recurrent laryngeal nerve injury rates with the use of the Ligasure device or manually tying blood vessels. The thyroid gland has two lobes, a left and a right, and under each lobe there is the recurrent laryngeal nerve (thus two per patient). With the traditional manual tying of vessels, approximately 2% of patients will have altered function in one of the recurrent laryngeal nerve, and we expect that the rates of altered function in the Ligasure patient cohort to be the same. To prove this we will enroll patients with benign thyroid disease, including multinodular goitre, Grave's disease, thyroid nodule or thyroiditis, having total thyroidectomy. Excluded are patients under 18 and those with known cancer as well as those undergoing reoperative surgery or those with known recurrent laryngeal nerve dysfunction. The patients will be randomized by computer to have dissection of the thyroid gland on one side (left or right) done with the traditional manual tying method and the other side will be done with the surgeon using the hand-held Ligasure device. The randomization process uses a random number generator to assign the patient a number as they are booked for the operating theatre. This process is independent of the surgeon such that they do not know the side to use the Ligasure until the day of the operation. After surgery an independent assessment of the vocal cords with nasopharyngoscopy is done on both the left and right side within 6 weeks of surgery by an otolaryngologist that is blinded to the surgical technique. This allows us to determine if either the left or right recurrent laryngeal nerve has been injured. If there is an injury it will be linked to whether the surgeon manually tied the vessels on that side or if they used the Ligasure device. Sample size calculations for this equivalence trial were based on Blackwelder (Controlled Clinical Trials 1982;3:345-353) which outline that to detect a 5% difference in injury rates, set at 2 in 100, between the Ligasure and traditional techniques we will need to complete dissections on 96 patients (each patient has one side Ligasure and one side manual tying).
- Conditions
- Multinodular Goitre, Grave's Disease, Thyroid Nodule
- Being tested
- Ligasure Device
- Keywords
- Thyroidectomy
- Medical subject headings
- Thyroid Nodule
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Ligasure DeviceDevice
Ligasure device used to seal blood vessels during left or right side of a total thyroidectomy. Traditional method of hand ties/clips on contralateral side.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Ligasure device | Active comparator | Not described Receives: Device: Ligasure Device |
| Hand ties | No intervention | Not described |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
recurrent laryngeal nerve injury
Measured: 6 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted15 Jul 2010 (estimated)
- Study startApr 2010
- Primary completionSep 2012
- Study completionDec 2012
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Multinodular GoitreStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of AlbertaThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 96 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Alberta
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Medtronic - MITG
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Todd McMullen, University of Alberta
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT01163565
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- Pro00004394
- Status last verified
- Dec 2014
- First submitted
- 14 Jul 2010
- Last updated
- 3 Dec 2014
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 3 Dec 2014. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Prospective Randomized Equivalence Trial to Evaluate the Safety of the Ligasure in Thyroid Surgery
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT01163565
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Pro00004394
- Conditions
- Multinodular Goitre, Grave's Disease, Thyroid Nodule
- Keywords
- Thyroidectomy
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 96 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of AlbertaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Medtronic - MITG
- Study start
- Apr 2010
- Primary completion
- Sep 2012 (actual)
- Study completion
- Dec 2012 (actual)
- First posted
- 15 Jul 2010 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This is a randomized, prospective equivalence trial on the safety of the Ligasure Vessel Sealing System as used in thyroid surgery. The Ligasure system is a hand held surgical device that uses heat to seal blood vessels during surgery. It has been a tested and accepted technology in abdominal surgery and it is now being applied to surgery of the thyroid gland because it is faster than the traditional method of tying blood vessels that a surgeon must do manually. To remove the thyroid gland safely the surgeon must dissect the gland away from the recurrent laryngeal nerve which controls the vocal cords and patient's voice. Protecting this nerve is the key step in all thyroid surgery as its damage can permanently alter a patient's voice and even obstruct the airway. At this time the worldwide accepted rate of nerve injury is 2 in 100 patients. The hypothesis of this study is that the nerve injury rates for surgery using the Ligasure device are similar to that seen when surgeons manually tie blood vessels. The investigators protocol will evaluate the function of the recurrent laryngeal nerve after removing the thyroid gland using the Ligasure device in comparison to the traditional method where the surgeon manually ties blood vessels. In this study, for patients undergoing total thyroidectomy for a benign condition, each patient will be randomized to have one lobe of thyroid (left or right) removed using manual tying of blood vessels and the other side will have the surgeon use the Ligasure device to seal blood vessels. Every patient has a pre- and post-operative independent assessment of vocal cord function using nasopharyngoscopy to ensure that the vocal cords are working normally prior to surgery and also to document vocal cord dysfunction if there is an injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve. The investigators intent is to show that the Ligasure system is a safe method to sealing vessels in thyroid surgery and that the thermal dispersion of this device does not pose a significant increase in risk to the recurrent laryngeal nerve
Detailed description
Diathermy is an accepted modality to aid surgery and maintain hemostasis and is used in all forms of surgery including head and neck, neurosurgery and general surgery. The Ligasure vessel sealing system uses heat energy and has been approved for use in many different types of surgery and has been tested and accepted for use in multiple countries, including Canada. What is being tested in this proposal is the application of this accepted technology to thyroid surgery. There has been one previous randomized trial examining the Ligasure device in thyroid surgery but this was designed to look at operative times and bleeding episodes in comparison to manually tying blood vessels. It has been proven that the Ligasure device makes operations quicker and is just as effective at sealing blood vessels as manual tying by the surgeon. However, in thyroid surgery injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve is an important concern as the nerve is in close proximity to the gland. Damage to the nerve could temporarily or permanently alter a patient's voice making it hoarse. In this study we examine if the heat generated by the device could damage the recurrent laryngeal nerve if it is held close enough for prolonged time periods. There are case reports that indicate that the Ligasure is safe but this study intends in a prospective, randomized manner to prove that the use of the Ligasure system does not affect nerve injury rates compared to a surgeon manually tying blood vessels during thyroid surgery.
Our hypothesis is that the use of the Ligasure vessel sealing system in thyroid surgery is as safe as the traditional manual tying of blood vessels by the surgeon in terms of injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve.
We propose a randomized, prospective equivalence trail to compare recurrent laryngeal nerve injury rates with the use of the Ligasure device or manually tying blood vessels. The thyroid gland has two lobes, a left and a right, and under each lobe there is the recurrent laryngeal nerve (thus two per patient). With the traditional manual tying of vessels, approximately 2% of patients will have altered function in one of the recurrent laryngeal nerve, and we expect that the rates of altered function in the Ligasure patient cohort to be the same. To prove this we will enroll patients with benign thyroid disease, including multinodular goitre, Grave's disease, thyroid nodule or thyroiditis, having total thyroidectomy. Excluded are patients under 18 and those with known cancer as well as those undergoing reoperative surgery or those with known recurrent laryngeal nerve dysfunction. The patients will be randomized by computer to have dissection of the thyroid gland on one side (left or right) done with the traditional manual tying method and the other side will be done with the surgeon using the hand-held Ligasure device. The randomization process uses a random number generator to assign the patient a number as they are booked for the operating theatre. This process is independent of the surgeon such that they do not know the side to use the Ligasure until the day of the operation. After surgery an independent assessment of the vocal cords with nasopharyngoscopy is done on both the left and right side within 6 weeks of surgery by an otolaryngologist that is blinded to the surgical technique. This allows us to determine if either the left or right recurrent laryngeal nerve has been injured. If there is an injury it will be linked to whether the surgeon manually tied the vessels on that side or if they used the Ligasure device. Sample size calculations for this equivalence trial were based on Blackwelder (Controlled Clinical Trials 1982;3:345-353) which outline that to detect a 5% difference in injury rates, set at 2 in 100, between the Ligasure and traditional techniques we will need to complete dissections on 96 patients (each patient has one side Ligasure and one side manual tying).
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Ligasure device | Active comparator | Device: Ligasure Device |
| Hand ties | No intervention | – |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 85 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- multinodular goiter
- Grave's disease
- thyroid nodule
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- thyroid carcinoma
- reoperative surgery
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Ligasure DeviceLigasure device used to seal blood vessels during left or right side of a total thyroidectomy. Traditional method of hand ties/clips on contralateral side. | Device | Ligasure device |
Primary outcome
recurrent laryngeal nerve injury
Time frame: 6 months
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 3 Dec 2014.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Ligasure Device in people with Multinodular Goitre and Grave's Disease, run by University of Alberta at 1 site in Canada.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 3 Dec 2014. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Canada. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (time frame: 6 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 3 Dec 2014.