Abstract
CONTEXT: In patients undergoing thyroidectomy for malignant disease, lower quality of life scores were observed in the early postoperative period compared to those undergoing thyroidectomy for benign causes. OBJECTIVE: Thyroid gland diseases are commonly encountered in society. This study presents health-related quality of life differences in thyroidectomies performed for benign and malignant diseases and the factors affecting this. DESIGN: Patients who underwent thyroidectomy for thyroid disease between January 2021 and January 2022 were evaluated prospectively. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The SF 36 questionnaire was applied and interpreted at the 1(st) and 6(th) months after thyroidectomy in patients over the age of 18 who did not have a history of previous thyroid surgery. RESULTS: The study included a total of 228 patients. Among them, 171 (75%) were female (male/female: 57/171). Multinodular goiter in benign cases and papillary carcinoma in malignant cases were predominant (68.3% and 90.6%, respectively). SF-36 scores were found to be worse in the malignant group. CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing thyroidectomy for malignant disease, lower quality of life scores were observed in the early postoperative period compared to those undergoing thyroidectomy for benign causes.