Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Quality of life and patient satisfaction in outpatient thyroid surgery

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Updates in Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the last three decades surgeons have begun to perform outpatient thyroid surgery (OTS). Important outcome measures of a day-hospital procedure are the patient’s quality of life (QoL) and satisfaction, but information on these issues in the OTS setting is scanty. The aim of this pilot study was to explore how early discharge after thyroidectomy affects patients’ QoL and satisfaction. Postoperative QoL and satisfaction were assessed retrospectively by giving each patient a self-report questionnaire specifically created in our center for OTS and derived from the post-discharge surgical recovery (PSR) scale to assess physical and mental well-being. Twenty-three of 24 patients (96%), 16 women and 7 men with a median age of 48 years (range 16–72), completed the questionnaire, answering 92% of the questions. QoL based on this scale gave a median score of 81.8% (range 62–98.8%). No major or minor complications occurred in the study group. Regarding QoL eight patients (35%) reported feeling “tired all the time” and six patients (26%) reported mild pain, which in two cases resolved spontaneously. Regarding patient satisfaction two-thirds of patients judged OTS positively while the remaining one-third would not recommend it. Our study showed very good uptake by patients of a new questionnaire dedicated to OTS as a possible aid in the identification of areas for improvement of OTS management. However, to be considered a safe procedure with maximum patient compliance and satisfaction, OTS was found to require considerable effort by hospital staff and patients’ caregivers compared to inpatient thyroid surgery.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  1. Terris DJ, Snyder S, Carneiro-Pla D, Inabnet WB III, Kandil E, Orloff L et al (2013) American thyroid association statement on outpatient thyroidectomy. Thyroid 23:1193–1202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Clark OH, Ituarte P (1998) Ambulatory thyroid surgery—unnecessary and dangerous. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 83:1100–1103

    Google Scholar 

  3. Doran H, England J, Palazzo F (2012) Questionable safety of thyroid surgery with same day discharge. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 94:543–547

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Brattwall M, Stomberg MW, Rawal N, Segerdahl M, Houltz E, Jakobsson J (2010) Patient assessed health profile: a six-month quality of life questionnaire survey after day surgery. Scand J Public Health 38:574–579

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Samson PS, Reyes FR, Saludares WN, Angeles RP, Francisco RA, Tagorda ER (1997) Outpatient thyroidectomy. Am J Surg 173:499–503

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Mowschenson PM, Hodin RA (1995) Outpatient thyroid and parathyroid surgery: a prospective study of feasibility, safety, and costs. Surgery 118:1051–1053

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Sahmkow SI, Audet N, Nadeau S, Camiré M, Beaudoin D (2012) Outpatient thyroidectomy: safety and patients’ satisfaction. J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 41(suppl 1):S1-12

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Rattray J, Jones MC (2007) Essential elements of questionnaire design and development. J Clin Nurs 16:234–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. American Society of Anesthesiologists (1963) New classification of physical status. Anesthesiology 24:110–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Kleinbeck SV (2000) Self-reported at-home postoperative recovery. Res Nurs Health 23:461–472

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Wang JJ, Ho ST, Lee SC, Liu YC, Ho CM (2000) The use of dexamethasone for preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting in females undergoing thyroidectomy: a dose-ranging study. Anesth Analg 91:1404–1407

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Steckler RM (1986) Outpatient thyroidectomy: a feasibility study. Am J Surg 152:417–419

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Lee DJ, Chin CJ, Hong CJ, Perera S, Witterck IL (2018) Outpatient versus inpatient thyroidectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Head Neck 40:192–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Khadra H, Mohamed S, Hauch A, Carter J, Hu T, Kandil E (2017) Safety of same-day thyroidectomy: meta-analysis and systematic review. Gland Surg 6:292–301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Bowers MR, Swan JE, Koehler WF (1994) What attributes determine quality and satisfaction with health care delivery? Health Care Manage Rev 19:49–55

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Jun M, Peterson RT, Zsidisin GA (1998) The identification and measurement of quality dimensions in health care: focus group interview results. Health Care Manage Rev 23:81–96

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Sørlie T, Sexton HC, Busund R, Sørlie D (2000) Predictors of satisfaction with surgical treatment. Int J Qual Health Care 12:31–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. McLafferty R, Williams R, Lambert A, Dunnington G (2006) Surgeon communication behaviors that lead patients to not recommend the surgeon to family members or friends: analysis and impact. Surgery 140:616–624

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Guyatt G, Walter S, Norman G (1987) Measuring change over time: assessing the usefulness of evaluative instruments. J Chronic Dis 40:171–178

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Kluivers KB, Riphagen I, Vierhout ME, Brölmann HA, de Vet HC (2008) Systematic review on recovery specific quality-of-life instruments. Surgery 143:206–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Terwee CB, Dekker FW, Wiersinga WM, Prummel MF, Bossuyt PMM (2003) On assessing responsiveness of health-related quality of life instruments: guidelines for instrument evaluation. Qual Life Res 12:349–362

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Delbridge L (2009) Endocrine surgery—a 23 hour specialty? ANZ J Surg 79:320–322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Balentine CJ, Sippel RS (2016) Outpatient thyroidectomy: is it safe? Surg Oncol Clin N Am 25:61–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Materazzi G, Dionigi G, Berti P, Rago R, Frustaci G, Docimo G et al (2007) One-day thyroid surgery: retrospective analysis of safety and patient satisfaction on a consecutive series of 1,571 cases over a three-year period. Eur Surg Res 39:182–188

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Schmocker RK, Cherney Stafford LM, Siy AB, Leverson GE, Winslow ER (2015) Understanding the determinants of patient satisfaction with surgical care using the consumer assessment of healthcare providers and systems surgical care survey (S-CAHPS). Surgery 158:1724–1733

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Mira JJ, Tomás O, Virtudes-Pérez M, Nebot C, Rodríguez-Marín J (2009) Predictors of patient satisfaction in surgery. Surgery 145:536–541

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Hessman C, Fields J, Schuman E (2011) Outpatient thyroidectomy: is it a safe and reasonable option? Am J Surg 201:565–568

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Pothier DD (2005) The use of drains following thyroid and parathyroid surgery: a meta-analysis. J Laringol Otol 119:669–671

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Rosato L, Avenia N, Bernante P, De Palma M, Gulino G, Nasi PG et al (2004) Complications of thyroid surgery: analysis of a multicentric study on 14,934 patients operated on in Italy over 5 years. World J Surg 28:271–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Vaiman M, Nagibin A, Olevson J (2010) Complications in primary and completed thyroidectomy. Surg Today 40:114–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Walker JA (2007) What is the effect of preoperative information on patient satisfaction? Br J Nurs 16:27–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Gilmartin J (2007) Contemporary day surgery: patients’ experience of discharge and recovery. J Clin Nurs 16:1109–1117

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Marije de Jager for help with the English, and the staff of the day-surgery unit for their collaboration.

Funding

No funding was received.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Andrea Zuccarelli

    Present address: Department of General Surgery, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland Foundation School, NI Medical and Dental Training Agency (NIMDTA), Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgical Oncology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Via Manzoni 56, Rozzano, 20089, Milan, Italy

    Luca Cozzaglio, Andrea Zuccarelli, Ferdinando Cananzi, Federico Sicoli, Laura Ruspi & Vittorio Quagliuolo

  2. Department of Anesthesiology, IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy

    Roberta Monzani

Authors
  1. Luca Cozzaglio
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Roberta Monzani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Andrea Zuccarelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ferdinando Cananzi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Federico Sicoli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Laura Ruspi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Vittorio Quagliuolo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luca Cozzaglio.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Research involving human participants

All procedures involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible institutional and national committees and the Helsinki declaration of 1975 as revised in 1983.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cozzaglio, L., Monzani, R., Zuccarelli, A. et al. Quality of life and patient satisfaction in outpatient thyroid surgery. Updates Surg 74, 317–323 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13304-021-01190-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13304-021-01190-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation