J Korean Thyroid Assoc.  2012 May;5(1):65-72. 10.11106/jkta.2012.5.1.65.

Inadvertent Parathyroidectomy during Thyroid Surgery for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and Postoperative Hypocalcemia

• Ahn D
• Sohn JH
• Kim JH
• Park JY
• Park J

• KMID: 2198438
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.11106/jkta.2012.5.1.65

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this article is to report our experience of inadvertent parathyroidectomy during thyroid surgery and to analyze its associated factors and clinical implications. In addition, we attempted to determined causative factors that result in permanent hypocalcemia after thyroid surgery.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We performed a retrospective review of 500 patients who underwent thyroid surgery for the treatment of papillary thyroid carcinoma from 2004 to 2008.
RESULTS
Inadvertent parathyroidectomy was identified in 7.4% of patients and only 1 parathyroid gland was inadvertently removed in most cases. The incidence of inadvertent parathyroidectomy was not associated with gender, age, type of surgical procedure, tumor size, coexisting Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT), extra-thyroidal extension (ETE), lymph node (LN) metastasis, and surgeon's experience. Nor was inadvertent parathyroidectomy associated with permanent postoperative hypocalcemia. Although operating time >120 min, ETE, and total thyroidectomy (TT) with central neck dissection (CND) were found to be related to permanent hypocalcemia on univariate analysis, tumor size > or =1 cm and surgeon's experience < or =5 years was statistically associated with permanent hypocalcemia on both univariate and multivariate analyses.
CONCLUSION
Although inadvertent parathyroidectomy is not an uncommon complication of thyroid surgery, it appears to have only modest clinical implications. Permanent hypocalcemia was significantly associated with tumor size > or =1 cm and short surgical experience of surgeons, especially in the case of TT with CND. Therefore, we suggest that more accurate risk stratification should be made for routine CND, when it is performed by young surgeons.

Keyword

Thyroidectomy; Parathyroidectomy; Hypocalcemia

MeSH Terms

Carcinoma
Humans
Hypocalcemia
Incidence
Lymph Nodes
Neck Dissection
Neoplasm Metastasis
Parathyroid Glands
Parathyroidectomy
Retrospective Studies
Thyroid Gland
Thyroid Neoplasms
Thyroidectomy
Thyroiditis
Carcinoma
Thyroid Neoplasms