Reducing neck incision length during thyroid surgery does not improve satisfaction in patients

• Published in: European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology 2015-09, Vol.272 (9), p.2433-2438
• Main Authors: Kim, Seok-Mo, Chun, Ki Won, Chang, Ho Jin, Kim, Bup-Woo, Lee, Yong Sang, Chang, Hang-Seok, Park, Cheong Soo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Cicatrix - etiology; Cicatrix - pathology; Cicatrix - psychology; Female; Head and Neck; Head and Neck Surgery; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neurosurgery; Otorhinolaryngology; Patient Satisfaction; Surveys and Questionnaires; Thyroid Neoplasms - pathology; Thyroid Neoplasms - psychology; Thyroid Neoplasms - surgery; Thyroidectomy - adverse effects
• ISSN: 0937-4477; 1434-4726
• DOI: 10.1007/s00405-014-3150-z

Postoperative neck cosmesis is a major concern of patients undergoing thyroid surgery. Patients will likely be more satisfied with the long-term cosmetic appearance of smaller than larger thyroidectomy scars. We, therefore, investigated the relationship between scar length following conventional thyroid surgery and patient satisfaction. An anonymous scar-assessment questionnaire was administered to patients who underwent conventional thyroid surgery. The 2,041 patients were asked to rate their satisfaction with their scars on a ten-point Likert scale, with one being very unsatisfied and ten being very satisfied. The mean satisfaction score was significantly lower in the benign condition than in malignancy (6.9 ± 2.5 vs. 7.4 ± 2.5; p  = 0.021), whereas there were no differences in satisfaction score among subgroups of patients with benign condition ( p  = 0.837). In patients with thyroid cancer, the mean satisfaction scores were similar among subgroups according to operation type and scar length ( p  = 0.820). Incision length was not associated with patient satisfaction in thyroid surgery patients and therefore may not be critical in decision making for thyroid cancer surgery.