Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Mixed Reality Assisted Radical Endoscopic Thyroidectomy
Published on: January 31, 2025
Quality of life in patients undergoing thyroid surgery
Manish D Shah1, Ian J Witterick, Spiro J Eski
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario.
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.
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