Endoscopic thyroidectomy bilateral areola approach (ETBAA) is one of the most widely applied approach in China, meanwhile its safety and effectiveness has been broadly discussed since being introduced. However, these studies are generally with small sample size and short follow-up duration. The lack of long-term follow-up on oncological outcomes makes it inaccurate to evaluate the effectiveness of ETBAA versus OT. Thus, in this study, we evaluated long-term QoL and outcomes of patients with PTC underwent thyroidectomy via ETBAA versus OT.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 1) Female patients under 55 years old; 2) no lateral cervical lymph node or distant metastasis were detected before the operation; 3) postoperative pathology confirmed the diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Exclusion Criteria:

• 1) Previous history of thyroid surgery; 2) lateral cervical lymph node dissection in the operation; 3) past or current history of underlying diseases including hyperthyroidism, hypertension, diabetes, coagulation dysfunction.