"Minimally Invasive Microwave Treatment Offers Alternative to Thyroid Surgery"

A new study from China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing suggests that patients with multi-focal papillary thyroid cancer could avoid surgery through a minimally invasive procedure using microwave ablation, which offers similar progression-free survival rates to surgery but with fewer complications and a greater potential for preserving thyroid function. The research, published in Radiology, followed 775 patients and found that microwave ablation resulted in less blood loss, shorter incision length, and shorter hospitalization durations, while surgical resection led to permanent hoarseness and hypoparathyroidism. Dr. Ming-An Yu, director of interventional medicine, believes this advancement in interventional thyroid cancer treatment offers a promising option that can enhance patients' quality of life by preserving thyroid function.