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Importance of the intraoperative appearance of preserved parathyroid glands after total thyroidectomy

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Abstract

Purpose

Hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy is a concern for every endocrine surgeon. We conducted this study to establish the value of the macroscopic appearance of preserved parathyroid glands after thyroidectomy in predicting post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia.

Methods

In 2009, 237 patients underwent total thyroidectomy at our hospital. The macroscopic appearance of the preserved parathyroid glands was recorded and the serum calcium and intact parathyroid hormone levels were measured postoperatively.

Results

Thirteen patients (5.5 %) had transient hypocalcemia and 1 patient (0.4 %) had permanent hypocalcemia. All of the hypocalcemia patients with more than one normal preserved parathyroid had asymptomatic transient hypocalcemia that did not require medication. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for hypocalcemia with at least 1 normal preserved parathyroid were 78.6, 79.4, 19.3, and 98.3 %, respectively.

Conclusion

The macroscopic appearance of preserved parathyroid glands and the number of well-preserved parathyroid glands after thyroidectomy proved effective in predicting post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 86 Asanbyeongwan-gil, Songpa-Gu, Seoul, 138-736, Korea

    Tae-Yon Sung, Yu-mi Lee, Jong Ho Yoon, Ki-Wook Chung & Suck Joon Hong

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  1. Tae-Yon Sung
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  2. Yu-mi Lee
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  3. Jong Ho Yoon
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  4. Ki-Wook Chung
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Correspondence to Suck Joon Hong.

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Sung, TY., Lee, Ym., Yoon, J.H. et al. Importance of the intraoperative appearance of preserved parathyroid glands after total thyroidectomy. Surg Today 46, 356–362 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-015-1216-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-015-1216-1

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