title: Quality of life is not influenced by the extent of surgery in patients with benign goiter.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The surgical approach to benign goiter is becoming increasingly radical due to the risk of recurrent goiter. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the impact of surgery on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with benign goiter.
  
  
  METHODS
  HRQoL data from 115 patients with benign goiter were analyzed. Thirty-three patients (group 1) had a hemithyroidectomy. Sixty-five patients (group 2) had a so-called Dunhill operation (hemithyroidectomy + near-total thyroidectomy of the opposite side), and in 17 patients, a total resection of the goiter was performed. The validated HRQoL instrument, the EuroQol-5D, was applied to measure the health-related quality of life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With an overall complication rate of 10% and no permanent recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy, it was shown that surgery for benign goiter is safe. In the validated HRQoL questionnaire (EQ-5D), no significant variance could be found between different surgical procedures such as thyroidectomy, hemithyroidectomy, or Dunhill procedure. Further, no significant differences in QoL were found in EQ-5D questionnaire compared to normal population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thyroid surgery can be done safely and without impairment of life quality, regardless of the extent of the operation.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. hubertus_schmitz-winnenthal@med.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: F Hubertus
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Schmitz-Winnenthal
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schimmack
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Maier
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heidmann
authors.forename: Markus W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Buchler
authors.forename: Moritz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: von Frankenberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006042:Goiter / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013960:Thyroid Function Tests; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome