To compare the clinical efficacy of microwave ablation and endoscopic surgery in the management of benign thyroid tumors.

From January 2016 to June 2018, 66 patients with thyroid masses were treated at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, including 34 undergoing microwave ablation (ablation group) and 32 undergoing endoscopic surgery (endoscopic group). Indexes including operation time, blood loss, hospitalization time, hospitalization expenses, surgical scar, the rate of complications, and thyroid gland function were statistically compared between the two groups.

There was no significant difference in gender orage between the two groups. The operation time, blood loss, hospitalization time, and surgical scar were all significantly lower in the ablation group than in the endoscopic group [(74±26) min vs (137±38) min, (3±8) ml vs (16±24) ml, (5.3±4.3) d vs (8.2±2.9) d, and (0.29±0.08) cm vs (2.92±0.18) cm, respectively, t=7.81, 2.76, 3.18, and 73.94, P<0.01].There was no significant difference in the levels of thyroid hormones between the two groups before and after the surgery. There was also no significant difference in complication rate between the ablation group and endoscopic group (11.8% vs 12.5%, χ²=0.927, P>0.05). The thyroid nodules in the ablation group shrank significantly and scarred 6 months after the surgery. Compared with the endoscopy group, the hospitalization expenses of the ablation group were significantly higher [(15 057±3 288) yuan vs (12 221±1 735) yuan, t=-4.34, P<0.01).

Compared with endoscopic surgery, thyroid microwave ablation is a safe and effective surgical method with less tissue trauma, shorter operation time, less bleeding, shorter hospital stay, less scar, and faster recovery.