Bilateral Neck Exploration May Not Reduce the Risk of Persistence but Shows a Perspective Advantage

There is still no consensus for an optimal surgical treatment of primary hyperpararthyroidism (PHPT). Virtually, most of the patients could be successfully treated with the selective parathyroidectomy (SPTE) based on preoperative visualization. However, this approach still has a “blind area” of undetected multiglandular disease (MGD). Bilateral neck exploration (BNE) may serve as a reasonable alternative but it meets the higher requirements for the surgical technique. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in order to reveal factors associated with the persistence of PHPT. 587 cases of PHPT patients who had received surgical treatment at SPSU Hospital in 2017–2018 were included. All the patients have at least one preoperative visualization study (neck ultrasound performed by a surgeon) before the operation. In 356 cases two studies were performed (additional 4D CT or MIBI scan) and 116 cases had all three. A surgeon was free to choose a type of the operation (selective or explorative) according to their strategic preferences. Bilateral neck exploration was performed in 160 cases. There was no difference in bilateral exploration rate (p = 0.3896) between the groups (with 1, 2 or 3 studies performed) indicating that the additional visualization does not allow to avoid bilateral exploration. MGD rate accounted for 7.4% (40 cases). It is important that any set of preoperative visualization modalities prove the absence of MGD reliably and select patients for SPTE precisely. Negative predictive value for different combinations of concordant studies (US+MIBI, US+CT and US+CT+MIBI) did not differ significantly and was 96.95%, 97.4% and 97.7% respectively. 26 cases of persistent disease were reported with no significant difference between BNE and SPTE groups. (6 vs 20 respectively, p = 0.792). A history of the thyroid or parathyroid operations was found to be the only factor predicting the higher risk of persistence (OR = 7.98; 95% CI [2.62 - 24.27]), while neither the number of parathyroid glands found during the surgery nor the number of preoperative visualization studies showed statistical significance. Only 47,5% cases of BNE was reported to have all four glands visualized. There rate of failure to found each gland was similar. Surprisingly, the superior parathyroid adenomas (P4) were more likely to be removed (chi-squared 10.378, p = 0.0006) but not in the cases with all four glands visualized intraoperatively (chi-squared 1.822, p = 0.0884). The true rate difference due to a hypothetical feature of parathyroid physiology seems to be not very likely. One may rather suggest than it is not an uncommon for a surgeon to identify a P3 gland as a P4 unless all for glands are visualized. This fact shows a perspective advanantage which may prevent some cases of persistence.

Long standing hypercalcemia in a 78-years old woman

A 78 years-old woman was found with worsening hypercalcemia, osteopenia and memory loss during the past 2 years. Multiple, repeated imaging studies failed to reveal the aetiology of the primary hyperparathyroidism. Bilateral neck exploration revealed a 4.5X2,3 cm right superior parathyroid adenoma in an ectopic position.

Correlation of perioperative biochemical variables with single adenoma weight in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism

Background Single parathyroid adenoma is the main cause of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), with surgery remaining the gold standard for its treatment. The ability to preoperatively predict the parathyroid adenoma size and could facilitate the decision about the extent of surgical exploration. It is reasonable to hypothesize that the perioperative levels of PHPT-related variables (i.e. calcium, parathormone, phosphate) may predict the adenoma weight or/and demonstrate whether the adenoma is successfully removed or not. Aim of this study is to explore the relationship between perioperative biochemical values and adenoma weight. Secondarily, we investigated the relationship between adenoma weight and uni-/bilateral neck exploration. Methods Retrospective study of all patients undergone surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism due to single adenoma in a tertiary university hospital in Germany during a 6-year period. Following variables were analyzed: preoperative serum calcium, phosphorus and parathormone, intraoperative parathormone before and after adenoma excision, intraoperative PTH decrease, postoperative serum calcium and parathormone (PTHpostop—pg/ml), calcium and PTH decrease. Bivariate correlations were calculated by the Spearman's correlation test at the 95% significance level. Results A total of 339 patients were included in the study. The median age of the patients was 60 years (range 21–90) and 77% were females. The median adenoma weight was 1 g (range 0.1–11). Adenoma weight correlated strong with maximum adenoma diameter (r = 0.72, p < 0.05), moderate with preoperative parathormone (r = 0.44) and parathormone decrease (r = 0.27), whereas there was no correlation with the intraoperative PTH decrease (r = 0.02). There was also a borderline (moderate to weak) correlation with pre- and postoperative calcium levels (r = 0.21 and r = 0.23 respectively) and a negative borderline correlation with phosphorus (r = − 0.21). Patients who required bilateral neck exploration, had significantly lighter adenomas (median weight 0.8 g vs 1.1 g, p = 0.005). Conclusions We conclude that preoperative PTH levels may only serve as an approximate guide to adenoma weight, as direct preoperative prediction is not possible. Serum calcium levels, PTH and calcium decrease correlate only weak with adenoma weight. Patients who require bilateral neck exploration, have significantly (20–25%) lighter adenomas.

Multiglandular Parathyroid Disease: the Results of Surgical Treatment

Background. Sporadic multiple gland disease in primary hyperparathyroidism occurs in 7 to 33 % of cases. The absence of specific risk factors, low sensitivity of imaging methods, and low efficiency of bilateral neck exploration and intraoperative monitoring of parathyroid hormone indicate the complexity of the diagnosis and treatment of this disease’s form. Aim of the research. To analyze the results of surgical treatment of multiple lesions of the parathyroid gland in primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Methods. There was retrospective study, which included 100 observations of surgical treatment for primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism in the thoracic department of Irkutsk Regional Clinical Hospital from May 2018 to September 2019. The main point was to identify the frequency of surgical treatment outcomes in patients with multiple parathyroid lesions. As part of the study, potential predictors of multiple gland disease in primary hyperparathyroidism were analyzed. Results. Multiple gland disease in primary hyperparathyroidism occurs in 29 % of cases and causes persistence of the disease (p ≤ 0.01). Signs of multiple gland disease in primary hyperparathyroidism include the level of ionized calcium, parathyroid hormone (p ≤ 0.05), creatinine level and glomerular filtration rate (p ≤ 0.01). A negative result of intraoperative monitoring correlates with persistence of primary hyperparathyroidism in multiple lesions (χ2, p ≤ 0.05). Selective parathyroidectomy is associated with persistence of hyperparathyroidism in multiple lesions (χ2, p ≤ 0.05), while total parathyroidectomy is associated with remission of the disease (χ2, p ≤ 0.05). We did not find a statistically significant relationship between the results of surgical treatment for morphology of the parathyroid glands (χ2, p > 0.1). Conclusion. Multiple gland disease is the main cause of persistence of primary hyperparathyroidism. This form of the disease corresponds to lower levels of calcium, parathyroid hormone, and kidney function. Persistence factors have been established: removal of less than four parathyroid glands and a negative result of intraoperative monitoring of parathyroid hormone. Bilateral neck exploration does not reduce the incidence of disease persistence.