Late parathyroid function after successful parathyroidectomy guided by intraoperative hormone assay (QPTH) compared with the standard bilateral neck exploration.

BACKGROUND

Controversy continues between bilateral neck exploration and limited parathyroidectomy. One approach depends on gland size and histopathologic factors; the other approach limits excision to only hypersecreting glands. Both have excellent early operative success, but late recurrence rates with limited exploration are unknown.

METHODS

Three hundred twenty consecutive patients with primary hyperparathyroidism were followed 6 to 313 months after successful parathyroidectomy. One hundred seventy-six patients had bilateral neck exploration with excision of enlarged glands (group I); 144 patients had glands excised based on hyper-secretion (group II). Calcium and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels were measured yearly. Parathyroid gland hypersecretion was determined by elevated iPTH levels.

RESULTS

In group I, 1 gland was excised in 160 patients (91%); 19 of 176 patients (11%) had elevated iPTH levels. In group II, 139 patients (97%) had 1 gland excised; 19 of 144 patients (13%) had high iPTH levels. The number of patients with more than 1 gland excised in group I (9%) is 3 times higher than in group II (3%) (P <.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of recurrent hyperfunctioning glands between the 2 different operative approaches (chi-squared test).

CONCLUSIONS

Late parathyroid gland function was comparable with both approaches. Multiple gland excision based on size alone may lead to excision of normal functioning glands.