CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT06716632THYROIDECTOMYUpdated Jun 10, 2025Results posted

A Comparative Analysis of Hypocalcemia Incidence in Patients Undergoing Thyroidectomy: Ligasure vs Conventional Ligation of Vessels by Knot Tying

An interventional study of Using Ligasure for heamostasis and Use of conventional knot tying technique for heamostasis in Hypocalcemia After Total Thyroidectomy and Hypocalcemia, sponsored by Gulab Devi Hospital. Completed at 1 site in Pakistan. Open to participants aged 20 Years to 50 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-06-10.

Sponsored by Gulab Devi Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 7 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Apr 2024, registered Nov 2024).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
76
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
20 Years to 50 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study aims to address the existing gap in knowledge by conducting a comprehensive comparison of the incidence of hypocalcemia in patients undergoing thyroidectomy using Ligasure versus conventional ligation of vessels by knot tying. Additionally, secondary outcomes such as operative time, intraoperative bleeding, length of hospital stay, and postoperative complications will be assessed to provide a holistic understanding of the two surgical approaches.

Read the detailed description

Thyroidectomy is surgical removal of all or part of the thyroid gland, which is located in the front of the neck. Depending on how much thyroid tissue is removed, thyroidectomy could be classified into Total thyroidectomy, subtotal thyroidectomy, near total thyroidectomy and lobectomy.

In total thyroidectomy, the entire thyroid gland is removed. In thyroid lobectomy, one lobe of the thyroid gland is removed. In Thyroid lobectomy with isthmectomy, thyroid lobe along with the isthmus is removed. In Subtotal thyroidectomy, a small portion of the thyroid gland is left during the surgery. This portion is near the trachea, parathyroid glands and the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Indications for thyroidectomy are thyroid cancer, MNG, solitary thyroid nodule.

Complications of thyroidectomy include hoarseness or change in voice (33.3%), damage to parathyroid glands causing hypocalcaemia (54.4%), wound infection (3.4%), dysphagia (32.8%). Several risk factors may contribute to the occurrence of post-thyroidectomy complications, including age, gender, enlarged gland size, type of thyroid disease, presence of fibrosis and inflammation, extent of thyroidectomy, and lymph node dissection. Among these complications, hypocalcaemia and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury are the most frequently observed.

The superior and inferior parathyroid glands, located near the thyroid gland, play a vital role in calcium homeostasis by producing parathyroid hormone (PTH), which regulates calcium levels in the bloodstream.

Hypocalcemia, characterized by low serum calcium levels. It is a frequent and significant complication of thyroidectomy due to damage, ischemia, or removal of one or more of the parathyroid glands during surgery. It can be categorized into two main types, transient hypocalcemia and permanent hypocalcemia. The primary difference between these two types lies in the duration. Transient hypocalcemia lasts for 3 months after surgery, while permanent hypocalcemia persists for 3 months or longer after surgery.

To minimize the risk of parathyroid gland damage, various surgical techniques have been developed, including the utilization of energy-based devices such as Ligasure. Ligasure has gained popularity in thyroidectomy procedures due to its potential advantages in terms of precision, hemostasis, and reduced operative time.

Ligasure is a bipolar vascular sealing system utilized to achieve effective control of bleeding and create a bloodless surgical environment. It operates by utilizing an electrical current within the frequency range of 2-4 MHz It induces denaturation of collagen and elastin within the vessels and surrounding tissues. The localized tissue temperatures typically range between 60-100°C, facilitating the fusion of collagen and elastin in the vessel walls. This fusion process creates a durable sealed zone without any carbonization and enables hemostasis in vessels with diameters of up to 7 mm.

Conventional methods of vessel ligation, which involve the use of ties and suture ligatures, have long been employed in most medical centers. While these techniques effectively control bleeding from vessels, they are time-consuming and carry the risk of harming adjacent structures like the recurrent and superior laryngeal nerves. In light of the growing demand for time-saving procedures, particularly in high-volume operating theaters where efficient patient turnover is essential, there is a growing interest in devices or techniques that minimize the reliance on conventional knot-tying or suture ligation for achieving hemostasis. This is particularly important to optimise anesthesia time and improve overall efficiency.

According to a recent study, hypocalcemia occurred in 6.7% of individuals who underwent surgery using the Liga Sure method. In a separate study, 32.4% of patients who had surgery utilising the traditional knot tying technique experienced hypocalcemia.

However, despite the increasing use of Ligasure and other energy devices, there is a paucity of research comparing their efficacy in preventing hypocalcemia after thyroidectomy.

Therefore, this study aims to address the existing gap in knowledge by conducting a comprehensive comparison of the incidence of hypocalcemia in patients undergoing thyroidectomy using Ligasure versus the conventional artery forceps/knot tying technique.

02

Conditions studied

  • Hypocalcemia After Total Thyroidectomy
  • Hypocalcemia

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Keywords

  • thyroidectomy
  • hyocalcemia
03

In context

Hypocalcemia

82 studies on the registry are indexed under Hypocalcemia; 15 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 76 is close to the median of 82 across 53 interventional studies indexed under Hypocalcemia.

Browse Hypocalcemia studies →

Lead sponsor

Gulab Devi Hospital is the lead sponsor of 8 studies on the registry; 1 is open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
20 Years to 50 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Patients from both genders.
  2. Age between 20 years to 50 years.
  3. Patients undergoing Total thyroidectomy for benign thyroid disease.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients having pre-operative hypocalcaemia.
  2. Patients having malignant thyroid disease.
  3. Patients having recurrent thyroid disease.
  4. Patients having lobectomy + isthmectomy.
  5. Patients having pro-operative calcium supplements.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
76 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Ligasure

    Ligasure is a bipolar vascular sealing system utilized to achieve effective control of bleeding and create a bloodless surgical environment. It operates by utilizing an electrical current within the frequency range of 2-4 MHz It induces denaturation of collagen and elastin within the vessels and surrounding tissues. The localized tissue temperatures typically range between 60-100°C, facilitating the fusion of collagen and elastin in the vessel walls. This fusion process creates a durable sealed zone without any carbonization and enables hemostasis in vessels with diameters of up to 7 mm

    Device: Using Ligasure for heamostasis

  • Experimental
    Knot tying

    Conventional methods of vessel ligation, which involve the use of ties and suture ligatures, have long been employed in most medical centers

    Procedure: Use of conventional knot tying technique for heamostasis

Interventions

  • DeviceUsing Ligasure for heamostasis

    Ligasure is a bipolar vascular sealing system utilized to achieve effective control of bleeding and create a bloodless surgical environment. It operates by utilizing an electrical current within the frequency range of 2-4 MHz It induces denaturation of collagen and elastin within the vessels and surrounding tissues. The localized tissue temperatures typically range between 60-100°C, facilitating the fusion of collagen and elastin in the vessel walls. This fusion process creates a durable sealed zone without any carbonization and enables hemostasis in vessels with diameters of up to 7 mm.

  • ProcedureUse of conventional knot tying technique for heamostasis

    Conventional methods of vessel ligation, which involve the use of ties and suture ligatures, have long been employed in most medical centers. While these techniques effectively control bleeding from vessels, they are time-consuming and carry the risk of harming adjacent structures like the recurrent and superior laryngeal nerves.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Number of Participants With Hypocalcemia

    Time frame: 2 Days

07

Results

Posted Jun 10, 2025

Participant flow

Time Period/Location:Surgical Department, Gulab Devi Hospital, Lahore, from April 2024 to March 2025. Methodology: Seventy-six patients who underwent thyroidectomy were randomly allocated using lottery method to the LigaSure (38) and conventional knot-tying (38) groups.

Participant flow — Overall Study
MilestoneLigasureKnot Tying
Started3838
Completed3838
Not completed00

Outcome measures

PrimaryNumber of Participants With Hypocalcemia
Time frame:
2 Days
Reported as:
Number · participants
Number of Participants With Hypocalcemia
participantsLigasureKnot Tying
Number of Participants With Hypocalcemia43

Adverse events

Collected over 7 Days. Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
Ligasure0/38 (0%)0/38 (0%)0/38 (0%)
Knot Tying0/38 (0%)0/38 (0%)0/38 (0%)

Baseline characteristics

Age, Customized
Age, Customized(years)LigasureKnot TyingTotal
Age37.89 (21 to 50)39.29 (23 to 50)38.59 (21 to 50)
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)LigasureKnot TyingTotal
Female172340
Male211536
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected
Race and Ethnicity Not Collected(Participants)LigasureKnot TyingTotal
Count of participants——0
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)LigasureKnot TyingTotal
Pakistan383876
Hypocalcemia
Hypocalcemia(Participants)LigasureKnot TyingTotal
Count of participants437
08

Study locations

1 site
  • Gulab Devi Hospital
    Lahore, Punjab 54000, Pakistan
09

References and documents

Study documents

  • Study protocol · Mar 1, 2024
  • Statistical analysis plan · Mar 1, 2024

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

10

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 10, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
11

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06716632
Lead sponsor
Gulab Devi Hospital
Responsible party
Zain Himayoun (Principal Investigator (Post Graduate Resident), University of Health Sciences Lahore) — Principal investigator
First posted
Dec 4, 2024
Start date
Apr 20, 2024
Primary completion
Mar 20, 2025
Completion
Mar 20, 2025
Results posted
Jun 10, 2025
Last update
Jun 10, 2025

Study contacts

M. Zia-ul-Miraj Ahmad Study Director, MBBS,FRCS
study director · Gulab Devi Hospital

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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