Radiofrequency ablation of thyroid nodules: prospective cost-effectiveness analysis in comparison to conventional thyroidectomy.

Objective: The objective of this study is to compare the total costs of surgery and radiofrequency (RF) ablation for the treatment of benign thyroid nodules.

Methods: This is a prospective randomized study comparing cases treated with US-guided RF ablation (cases) and surgery (control). They were selected and allocated to groups (thyroidectomy or radioablation) by permuted block randomization in blocks of five cases each.