Quality of life in patients undergoing thyroid surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The extent of thyroidectomy in the management of low-risk, well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma (WDTC) has been debated extensively. Our objective was to determine if hemithyroidectomy has a less detrimental effect on quality of life (QOL) than total thyroidectomy. DESIGN: Prospective, nonblinded, nonrandomized, cohort study. SETTING: Tertiary care academic otolaryngology-head and neck surgery practice. METHODS: Using both disease-specific and global QOL instruments, patients treated with either hemi- or total thyroidectomy were prospectively followed. QOL was assessed preoperatively and for 12 months postoperatively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Scores on the two QOL instruments throughout a 12-month postoperative period. RESULTS: Patients with cancer experienced a greater drop in QOL during the first 6 months following surgery when compared with patients with benign disease (p < .03). Additionally, patients treated with total thyroidectomy did not have a significantly different QOL than patients treated with hemithyroidectomy (p > .2). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that QOL is not significantly impacted by the extent of surgery and that QOL should not be a factor in the decision-making process for the treatment of low-risk WDTC.