A prospective study to assess cervical scar satisfaction following conventional open thyroidectomy for thyroid cancer.

Abstract

Conventional open thyroidectomy (COT) remains a common method of thyroidectomy in many parts of the world for various reasons. In this prospective (cross-sectional) study, we evaluated the scar satisfaction among patients and surgeons following COT using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) and the Patient Scar Assessment Questionnaire (PSAQ). A total of 116 patients were included. The median age of the patients was 44years and the majority were women. The median scar length overall was 12.2cm. On POSAS, the median score for surgeon 1 was 1 (range 1-5), for surgeon 2, it was 2 (range 1-6), and for the patient, it was 1 (range 1-6) suggesting good scar satisfaction. The patient's response in the PSAQ was also echoing similar outcomes with scar satisfaction. Overall, both the patients and the surgeons seem to be satisfied with the overall scar appearance following COT despite the scar length.