title: Cosmesis and body image after minimally invasive or open thyroid surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Minimally invasive techniques, such as laparoscopic appendectomy or minimally invasive thyroid surgery, are thought to produce better cosmetic results. However, cosmesis in thyroid surgery was rarely investigated using a standardized approach. The objectives of this study were to evaluate body image and cosmesis in patients who had either minimally invasive (MI) or conventional open (CO) thyroid surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hundred fifty patients of 540 participated (46.3 %): 50 patients (20.0 %) had MI thyroid surgery and 200 (80.0 %) had CO thyroid surgery. The patients filled out a body image questionnaire that investigated body image, cosmesis, and self-confidence. SPSS 19.0 software was used for statistical analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although the mean incision size was significantly shorter in the MI group than in the CO group (2.8 vs. 3.5 cm), the mean scores from the body image questionnaire (body image score, cosmetic score, and self-confidence score) were similar for both groups (p > 0.05). No significant differences in postoperative complications were observed in these groups (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Studies in the literature that evaluate body image and cosmesis in thyroid surgery using standardized methods are scarce. In our department, the results of a questionnaire showed that the MI approach has no advantage for body image and cosmesis over the CO approach. Further prospective randomized studies using different tools with a larger sample size are needed to investigate the use of MI procedures for thyroid surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Abdominal, Endocrine and Vascular Surgery, St. Vincentius Kliniken, Südendstraße 32, 76137 Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: Therezia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bokor
authors.forename: Erhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kiffner
authors.forename: Bibiana
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kotrikova
authors.forename: Franck
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Billmann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D020535:Video-Assisted Surgery / Q000523:psychology*