Comparison of quality of life between open and endoscopic thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid cancer.
Recently, various endoscopic thyroidectomy techniques have been introduced for cosmetic purposes. However, few reports have compared the quality of life (QOL) between post-endoscopic thyroidectomy and post-conventional open thyroidectomy. In this study, we investigated whether endoscopic thyroidectomy was comparable to conventional open thyroidectomy with respect to QOL.



Between January 2010 and September 2011, 75 patients underwent endoscopic thyroid lobectomy and 233 patients underwent conventional open thyroid lobectomy. The QOL was assessed preoperatively and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively by using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30-question (EORTC-QLQ-C30) instruments.



Both groups showed similar changes over time in most of the QOL scales. However, patients who underwent endoscopic thyroidectomy showed significantly greater improvement in emotional function at 1 month (p = .039) and physical function at 3 months (p = .032). However, the pain increased more in the patients who underwent endoscopic thyroidectomy at 1 month (p = .042).



Current findings suggest that endoscopic thyroidectomy may offer more rapid recovery of emotional and physical function than open thyroidectomy. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E827-E831, 2016.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Myung Chul
MC
Lee
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Hoon
H
Park
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Byeong-Cheol
BC
Lee
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Guk-Haeng
GH
Lee
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Ik Joon
IJ
Choi
D000328:Adult; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain; D011788:Quality of Life; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000379:methods*
endoscopic; quality of life; thyroid cancer; thyroidectomy