Effect of Modified Miccoli's Thyroidectomy on Post-Operative Stress Responses and Quality of Life in Patients with Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Abstract

AIM: Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is a type of thyroid cancer with rapid progression and poor prognosis, and effective clinical treatment is of great significance in safeguarding the prognostic health of patients. Therefore, we assessed the effect of modified Miccoli's thyroidectomy on stress responses and quality of life in DTC patients, aiming to provide a more comprehensive reference for future DTC treatment.  METHODS: This study retrospectively analyzed 100 DTC patients admitted to our hospital from January 2023 to December 2023. Study participants were divided into two groups: The research group (n = 57) receiving modified Miccoli's thyroidectomy and the control group (n = 43) receiving routine open thyroidectomy. Surgical indexes (incision length, operative time, intraoperative bleeding, and the number of lymph nodes dissected) and post-operative indexes (post-operative pain, drainage volume, and hospitalization time) were comparatively assessed between the two experimental groups. Furthermore, stress response-associated indexes and immune function were evaluated before and after surgery. Additionally, the post-operative quality of life was investigated in both experimental groups.  RESULTS: The research group showed higher operative time but smaller incision length, less intraoperative bleeding, lower post-operative pain scores, less drainage volume, and shorter hospitalization time than the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, we observed reduced post-operative stress responses, better immune function, and higher quality of life scores in the research group compared to the control group (p < 0.05).  CONCLUSIONS: Modified Miccoli's thyroidectomy can effectively alleviate post-operative stress responses in DTC patients and promote their post-operative rehabilitation and quality of life.