Thyroid surgery for benign goiters ups quality of life

(HealthDay)—Thyroid surgery restores quality of life (QOL) for patients with benign goiters, according to a study published online Sept. 4 in Head Neck.

Jesper Roed Sorensen, M.D., from Odense University Hospital in Denmark, and colleagues evaluated 106 patients with goiters scheduled for thyroid surgery and 739 individuals from the general population. The Thyroid-Related Quality-of-Life Patient-Reported Outcome questionnaire was administered before surgery, as well as at three and six months after surgery.

The researchers found that before surgery, patients with goiters experienced poorer scores on all scales versus the general population. Moderate-to-large improvements were seen in goiter symptoms, tiredness, anxiety, and overall QOL following surgery. All scales returned to values equal to the general population after surgery, with anxiety lower than in the general population.

“Thyroid surgery leads to significant benefit among patients with benign nontoxic goiters by restoring QOL equal to that in the general population,” the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to the medical device industry.

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