ObjectiveTo explore the application value of carbon nanoparticles during radical operation of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).MethodsThe DTC patients underwent total thyroidectomy plus neck lymph node (area Ⅳ) dissection from September 2017 to September 2019 in this hospital were retrospectively collected, who were divided into observation group and control group according to using carbon nanoparticles or not during the operation. The operation related informations [operation time, intraoperative blood loss, total drainage volume on day 3 after operation, postoperative hospitalization time, number of lymph nodes dissection (area Ⅳ), lymph node metastasis rate, and rate of parathyroid glands resected by mistake during operation] and blood calcium (Ca2+) level and parathyroid hormone (PTH) level before and after (24 h and 1 month) operation were compared between the two groups.ResultsA total of 134 patients with DTC were collected, including 76 patients in the observation group and 58 patients in the control group. There were no significant differences in baseline data such as gender, age, etc. between the two groups (P>0.05). Although there were no significant differences in terms of operation time, intraoperative blood loss, total drainage volume on day 3 after operation, postoperative hospitalization time, lymph node metastasis rate between the two groups (P>0.05), the numbers of lymph node dissection and metastasis (area Ⅳ) were more and rate of parathyroid glands resected by mistake during operation was lower in the observation group as compared with the control group (P<0.05). On hour 24 after operation, the levels of Ca2+ and PTH in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). On month 1 after operation, the PTH level in the observation group was still higher than that in the control group (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in Ca2+ level between the two groups (P>0.05). ConclusionCarbon nanoparticles can better protect the function of parathyroid gland during radical operation of DTC and clean neck lymph nodes more thoroughly.