Favorable Features

-Patient’s own motivation to avoid a cervical scar

-Symptomatic benign nodules < 6 cm

-Cytologically indeterminate nodules

-Estimate thyroid diameter < 10 cm on ultrasound

-Estimated gland volume < 45 ml on ultrasound

-Symptomatic Hashimoto’s thyroiditis

-Grave’s disease

-Differentiated thyroid cancer < 3 cm without extrathyroidal extension or lymph node metastasis on preoperative ultrasonography

Non-favorable Features

-Substernal goiters

-Previous neck and chin surgery

-Previous neck radiation