Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Editorial Policies
    • Advertisers
    • Editorial Board
    • Special Issues
  • Journal Metrics
  • Other Publications
    • Anticancer Research
    • Cancer Genomics & Proteomics
    • Cancer Diagnosis & Prognosis
  • More
    • IIAR
    • Conferences
  • About Us
    • General Policy
    • Contact
  • Other Publications
    • In Vivo
    • Anticancer Research
    • Cancer Genomics & Proteomics

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
In Vivo
  • Other Publications
    • In Vivo
    • Anticancer Research
    • Cancer Genomics & Proteomics
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
In Vivo

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Editorial Policies
    • Advertisers
    • Editorial Board
    • Special Issues
  • Journal Metrics
  • Other Publications
    • Anticancer Research
    • Cancer Genomics & Proteomics
    • Cancer Diagnosis & Prognosis
  • More
    • IIAR
    • Conferences
  • About Us
    • General Policy
    • Contact
  • Visit iiar on Facebook
  • Follow us on Linkedin
Review ArticleReviewsR

Intraoperative Indocyanine Green (ICG) Angiography for the Identification of the Parathyroid Glands: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives

ELEFTHERIOS SPARTALIS, GEORGIOS NTOKOS, KONSTANTINOS GEORGIOU, GEORGIOS ZOGRAFOS, GERASIMOS TSOUROUFLIS, DIMITRIOS DIMITROULIS and NIKOLAOS I. NIKITEAS
In Vivo January 2020, 34 (1) 23-32; DOI: https://doi.org/10.21873/invivo.11741
ELEFTHERIOS SPARTALIS
1Laboratory of Experimental Surgery and Surgical Research “N.S. Christeas”, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece
2Hellenic Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery (MIRS) Study Group, Athens, Greece
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: eleftherios.spartalis{at}gmail.com
GEORGIOS NTOKOS
2Hellenic Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery (MIRS) Study Group, Athens, Greece
33rd Surgical Department, “George Gennimatas” General Hospital, Athens, Greece
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
KONSTANTINOS GEORGIOU
1Laboratory of Experimental Surgery and Surgical Research “N.S. Christeas”, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
GEORGIOS ZOGRAFOS
33rd Surgical Department, “George Gennimatas” General Hospital, Athens, Greece
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
GERASIMOS TSOUROUFLIS
2Hellenic Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery (MIRS) Study Group, Athens, Greece
42nd Department of Propaedeutic Surgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
DIMITRIOS DIMITROULIS
2Hellenic Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery (MIRS) Study Group, Athens, Greece
42nd Department of Propaedeutic Surgery, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
NIKOLAOS I. NIKITEAS
1Laboratory of Experimental Surgery and Surgical Research “N.S. Christeas”, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece
2Hellenic Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery (MIRS) Study Group, Athens, Greece
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Background/Aim: Recently, indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence imaging has been used for the identification of the parathyroid glands (PG) during thyroid and parathyroid surgery. However, an overall consensus on the optimal technique, the dosage, the timing of the ICG administration and finally its interpretation and clinical usefulness is still lacking evidence. The aim of this review is to investigate the use of ICG angiography during thyroidectomy and/or parathyroidectomy for identification as well as for the perfusion integrity of the parathyroid glands. Materials and Methods: The PubMed database was systematically searched for publications regarding intraoperative ICG imaging in patients that undergo thyroidectomy or parathyroidectomy. Results: Eighteen publications reporting on 612 patients, namely 71 parathyroidectomy and 541 thyroidectomy patients met the inclusion criteria. Eleven publications reported the use of ICG angiography for the identification of the parathyroid glands during thyroidectomy and seven during parathyroidectomy for primary and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Conclusion: ICG fluorescence imaging is a simple, fast and reproducible method capable of intraoperatively visualizing and assessing the function of parathyroid glands, and can, therefore, assist surgeons in their decision-making. Despite all this, ICG fluorescence imaging technique for PG detection still lacks standardization and further studies are needed to establish its clinical utility.

  • Indocyanine green
  • fluorescence
  • parathyroid glands
  • thyroidectomy
  • parathyroidectomy
  • review

Intraoperative identification of the parathyroid glands (PG) is a major concern either during parathyroidectomy (PTX) or when performing total thyroidectomy (TT) (1). Intraoperatively, the identification of PGs can be performed by two invasive alternatives: i) the frozen section method or ii) the “float or sink” technique. The frozen section analysis requires sacrificing a PG slice while the “float or sink” method is based on tissue density and thereafter a PG autotransplantation is needed (2).

The current identification method is usually based on visual inspection and palpation by the surgeon with careful preservation of the PG blood supply, depending greatly on the surgeon's experience (1).

Although inspection and palpation are still the main tools, several other techniques have been proposed for PG visualization and perfusion, but most are of limited value or have become obsolete. Therefore, there is no proven or reliable non-invasive intraoperative method to identify PG and assess PG vascularization (3).

To overcome this, near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging with indocyanine green (ICG) imaging has been recently introduced and has been suggested as a useful tool for the identification and preservation of the PGs (4, 5). However, there are significant differences in study design, inclusions, definitions and management protocol between reported studies (6-8). Additionally, there is no consensus regarding the standardization of technical details, while a universal objective scoring system is missing, thus, the correlation between intraoperative findings and postoperative outcomes remains unclear (9). Taking all this into account, we performed a pooled analysis of the available literature on this important yet controversial topic and review the utility of this clinically promising technique in PG detection and viability during total or near-total thyroidectomy (T-NT) or PTX.

Materials and Methods

Search strategy. This systematic review was conducted by searching the medical literature in MEDLINE and SCOPUS, guided by the PRISMA protocol (10, 11). The search was conducted in January 2019. All the retrieved article titles and abstracts were screened for relevant manuscripts. A full-text review of the selected relevant articles was made in order to detect the studies included in this systematic review. Relevant full-text review and/or systematic review manuscripts were used to retrieve articles of any publishing date from their reference list and include them in this systematic review. Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms and text words were used based on the following search strategy:

  1. Group A terms: “indocyanine green” OR “ICG”,

  2. Group B terms: “thyroid” OR “parathyroid”, Group C: “Intraoperative”,

  3. Group's A, B, and C terms were combined, so our search algorithm was (((((indocyanine green) OR ICG)) AND intraoperative)) AND ((thyroid) OR parathyroid), and

  4. Additional limits were applied to restrict manuscripts to ones related to human subjects, reported in English, and dated back to 10 years at the most.

Inclusion - exclusion criteria. Of the articles retrieved through the above-described search strategy, only those that met the following criteria were included to this systematic review: i) studies on the use of intraoperative use of ICG for parathyroid visualization during thyroidectomies or parathyroidectomies but not studies on the intraoperative ICG fluorescence use for other surgeries, ii) original papers and not review papers, even though the reference lists of the latter were used to retrieve any relevant study, iii) articles reporting at least one clinical case but not animal studies, and iv) no articles with the same patients in different journals.

Results

The search strategy with the limits applied yielded 37 articles. Of these articles, 4 were excluded according to the predefined criteria following title and abstract screening. Namely, one study was done in animals, two were not in the English language and the fourth article dealt with fluorescence ICG use in other surgical applications. There were, thus, 33 articles selected for a full-text review. Following the full-text review, 17 of them were also excluded as not relevant, two of them being review articles. The remaining 16 articles were included in the study. Additionally, two relevant articles were identified from the reference list of the reviewed articles and were added to the study. Finally, 18 articles were included in this systematic review. The flow diagram of the selection process is shown in Figure 1.

The characteristics of the included studies are presented in Tables I and II. As can be seen from Table I, the oldest report we found dates back to 2015. The 18 studies included a total of 672 patients who underwent ICG, namely 131 parathyroidectomies (PTX) and 541 total or near-total thyroidectomies (T-NT). All studies aimed to examine the feasibility of the ICG technique to identify PGs. Most of the studies were observational as all the PTX articles were case reports (CR) or case studies (CS) while the T-NT articles comprised 8 CS, one CR, one retrospective cohort (RC) and just one randomized control trial (RCT). Regarding pathology, the vast majority of PTX were due to primary hyperparathyroidism (n=119), while the T-NT cases were a mixture of multinodular goiter, thyroid cancer, and Graves' disease. As can also be seen in Table I, the dose, as well as the frequency and the time of ICG administration varied greatly. When cited, the time elapsed following ICG administration and PG visualization expanded from 60 sec up to 292 sec, while the time that ICG was staying fluorescent into the PGs usually was around 20 min. Regarding perfusion estimation, just two studies were using quantitative measurement of ICG uptake, while the rest of them were using individually estimated qualitative scoring or visual estimation. Postoperative primary or derived parathormone (PTH) data were available in all 18 studies although focusing on different postoperative time slots. Mean operation time was available in half of the studies while intraoperative time devoted to ICG procedure was available in five of them. Both times varied greatly among the different studies (see Table I) (5,12-28).

Discussion

Indocyanine green (ICG) is an inert, water-soluble organic dye that when delivered intravenously binds to plasma lipoproteins and confines to the vascular compartment until it is cleared exclusively through the hepatobiliary system due to the first-pass effect (29). It has a half-life of 3.4±0.7 min, which allows repeated applications (9). These two properties make ICG ideal for angiography as it remains entirely in the blood circulation with a short lifetime. ICG has been widely used in fluorescence-guided surgery applications, such as for macular degeneration, fluorescence cholangiography, perfusion assessment of gastrointestinal anastomoses, real-time lymph node mapping, adrenalectomy, coronary artery bypass graft, and tissue flap reconstructions (3, 9).

Figure 1.
  • Download figure
  • Open in new tab
  • Download powerpoint
Figure 1.

The flow diagram of our review.

ICG fluoresces at about 800 nm with a maximum absorption spectrum of 805 nm and reemission at 835 nm when excited by a light/laser at a wavelength in the NIR spectrum. The exact spectrum shape varies depending on the chemical environment, the temperature and the filters used (8, 9).

NIR ICG fluorescence imaging is a very promising method that can help surgeons to locate parathyroid glands in real-time during thyroid and parathyroid surgery. ICG has the advantage of accumulation in pathological PGs, which attributes to the higher fluorescence intensity compared to the surrounding tissues (9, 18, 30). However, ICG does not target specifically the parathyroid parenchyma. The exact mechanism of ICG uptake by the PGs the resulting fluorescent contrast compared to surrounding tissues is not known. It has been suggested that this may be related to their substantially increased blood flow compared to the flow in adjacent tissues (20). Additionally, it must be noted that bleeding can induce leakage of ICG into the operative field that may restrict fluorescent PGs visualization (1).

ICG substance contains 5% of sodium iodine for solubility and therefore any significant side effects and/or adverse events could be attributed to the iodide content. Thus, in a large study, the occurrence of anaphylactic or urticarial reactions was reported to be 0.00167% (4/240 000 cases); and in 34 years, 17 adverse reactions have been reported (31). It has also been published that intraoperative ICG administration can cause a “black thyroid” phenomenon, like that seen following minocycline use (32). In none of the articles we reviewed did we notice any adverse reactions to ICG injection mentioned. However, it must be noted that in some studies patients that preoperatively reported iodine or drug allergy were excluded (15, 16).

The intraoperative identification of the parathyroid glands can be challenging even for experienced surgeons (1). Identification of PGs is of special importance in two types of endocrine surgery: i) when localizing PG adenomas in PTX and ii) when trying to avoid damaging the PGs during thyroid surgery in order to reduce postoperative hypoparathyroidism (1). Therefore, we have chosen to group those two types of articles separately (Tables I and II, respectively).

ICG enhanced fluorescence in parathyroidectomy. In 80-85% of the cases, primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT1) is caused by a single adenoma, in 5-15% of cases by multiple PG hyperplasia and rarely by carcinoma (1). As there is no routine intraoperative tool to locate the variable locations of ectopic PG or to verify in real-time the successful PG resection, failure of the surgery can occur resulting in persistent hyperparathyroidism (9). Intraoperative and postoperative PTH levels can assist in estimating the function of the remnant PG, but this a time-consuming method and the results are obtained too late for the surgeon to adapt the surgical procedure (1).

From the reviewed studies regarding PTX, in most cases ICG NIR is used for identifying and localizing pathological PGs in HTP1 (14, 17, 20, 23), but also in redo-operation (12, 21) while two studies have included HPT2 cases (18, 23). Sound et al., have reported three cases of video-assisted PTX due to PG adenomas (12). One was following thyroidectomy and two cases were following failed PTX. They were administered intravenous ICG at 8.75-10 mg/kg in 2 doses. The PGs were visible within 2 min following injection of the dose and the adenomas stayed fluorescent for about 20 min (12). Zaidi et al., have reported the first prospective case study with intraoperative ICG fluorescent imaging of PGs involving 33 patients who underwent surgery for HPT1: i) a single adenoma in 20 patients, ii) double adenoma in seven patients, and iii) four glands hyperplasia in six patients (14). This study included both parathyroid adenoma excisions, as well as subtotal PTX (3.5-gland excision). Out of all 112 PGs that were identified by the naked eye, 104 of them had ICG uptake (92.9%). Eight PGs did not demonstrate ICG uptake. None of these patients exhibited postoperative hypoparathyroidism. There were no adverse reactions to ICG injection (14). It is also worth to note that in 2017, Mohsin et al., reported the successful resection of a PG adenoma, identified with the use of real-time ICG imaging, by performing a robotic transaxillary PTX with daVinci®Si™ in a patient with HPT1. The initial PTH baseline was 109.2 pg/ml and dropped to 39.1 pg/ml. The patient did not demonstrate postoperative hypoparathyroidism (17).

Most of the authors apply a double ICG injection protocol for both resection and remnant preservation of PG adenomas. Once the ipsilateral central neck is exposed and the thyroid lobe is retracted medially, the first injection dose is administered intravenously and usually uptake in the PGs is seen after 20-60 sec. The same dose is repeated for the contralateral side. ICG angiography can be used to assess perfusion before as well as following the resection (3).

Usually, PG imaging in hyperparathyroidism involves many modalities, such as CT, U/S and sestamibi (99mTc-MIBI). The sensitivities of the last two methods are around 69-75% and 49-70%, respectively, and their utility in locating normal PGs during a 4-gland exploration is even more limited (3).

In our review, comparison data of ICG imaging with those modalities were available in three case series (CS) studies, all of which demonstrated the superiority of ICG imaging over any other imaging modality. Thus, in 33 HPT1 patients, Zaidi et al., reported a 92.9% PG detection rate with ICG uptake vs. 29% with 99mTc-MIBI (14). Furthermore, Cui et al. have found that in 20 HPT2 patients the PG detection rate via ICG was 93.9% while this was 86% using CT, 82% with U/S and only 62% with 99mTc-MIBI (10). Finally, another study with 60 HPT1 cases, ICG was positive in 94% patients, while CT in 22/25 (88%), U/S in 25/35 (71%), and 99mTc-MIBI in only 36/54 (67%). It is also worth noting that all negative CT, U/S and 99mTc-MIBI cases were positive in ICG imaging (20).

ICG NIR fluorescence imaging was used for intraoperative PG identification in 29 patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism (HPT2) divided into two groups: i) Group A (9 patients) with no ICG and ii) Group B (20 patients) with ICG imaging. Although a higher PG detection rate was observed in Group B (93.3% vs. 78.6%), there was no significant difference between the two groups either in PG detection or the therapeutic effect. However, in the ICG imaging group, lower operation time and rate of persistent hyperparathyroidism were observed compared to the group without ICG. The ICG fluorescence intensity of the PGs was greater compared to that of the thyroid gland, which in turn was consistently stronger compared to that of muscle, fat, and other surrounding tissues. A significantly higher ICG fluorescence was also observed in patients with preoperative PTH levels >1900 pg/ml (p<0.05) and in PTGs larger than 10 mm (p<0.01) (18).

ICG enhanced fluorescence in Thyroidectomy. Postoperative hypoparathyroidism and the resulting hypocalcemia are the most common complications following thyroidectomy. Therefore, in thyroidectomies, except PG localization, their vascularity and therefore their viability is also a desired outcome. Transient hypoparathyroidism occurs in around 19-38% of cases, while permanent hypoparathyroidism is estimated at around 0-3% (30). This is caused by inadvertent injury, ischemia, gland devascularization or incidental excision of PGs due to failure in identifying and preserving them (9). Postoperative hypoparathyroidism can cause prolonged hospitalization, neuromuscular symptoms, the need for life-long calcium and vitamin D supplementation, cerebral, vascular, ocular and renal damage (9). It is worth to note that a variety of hypocalcemia and hypoparathyroidism PTH levels has been published, adding confusion to the respective comparison of definitions among the different studies (30).

In 2014, Suh et al. showed that PG could be visualized using ICG NIR imaging during thyroid surgery in dogs (33) and another group managed to differentially visualize the thyroid and PGs using NIR imaging in pigs (34).

From the reviewed studies regarding PG detection and viability following TT or N-TT, we identified eight case series (5, 13, 15, 16, 22, 24, 26, 28), a retrospective cohort (27), a randomized control trial (19) and a case report (25). Most of them were dealing with a mixture of thyroid pathologies:

In 2016, Zaidi et al. reported a study where ICG was administered in 27 patients undergoing TT for multinodular goiter (n=13), thyroid cancer (n=10) and Graves' disease (n=4). Eighty-five PGs were identified visually, 71 (84%) of them showed ICG uptake while 8 showed no ICG uptake. The false-negative rate was 6%. The ICG uptake was compared with the level of postoperative PTH. At postoperative day 1 PTH levels correlated with the number of PGs left & their fluorescence (p=0.05). Thyroid pathology & PG size did not show any correlation with ICG uptake (15).

Vidal Fortuny et al. reported 36 patients that underwent ICG angiography during TT in 2016 (13). One PG was identified in one patient, two PGs were identified in 11 patients, three PGs in 18 patients and four PTGs in 6 patients. In 6 patients ICG angiography did not demonstrate a well-vascularized PG and two of them demonstrated transient hypoparathyroidism. Postoperatively PTH levels were normal for all patients with at least one well-vascularized PG (13).

Yu et al. have used robotic bilateral axillo-breast approach (BABA) thyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma in 66 patients divided into two groups: i) Group A consisted of 44 patients without ICG imaging and ii) Group B comprised 22 patients (11 TTs and 11 lobectomies) with ICG NIR fluorescence. In total 32 PGs were successfully identified with ICG NIR fluorescence. Just one PG was not identified during surgery. BABA robotic thyroidectomy combined with Firefly improved the PG identification (16).

View this table:
  • View inline
  • View popup
  • Download powerpoint
Table I.

Summary of publications.

View this table:
  • View inline
  • View popup
Table II.

The final 18 papers included in this systematic review (results).

Lang et al. have reported a case series article with 94 thyroidectomies of various etiology using ICG NIR (24). 324/340 PGs were detected using a quantitative (PG/trachea) ratio. The greatest ICG intensity (GFI) correlated with normal PTH. GFI value was the best predictor of early postoperative hypocalcemia (0% if GFI >150% vs. 81.8% chance if GFI ≤150%). Therefore, ICG uptake could be used as a prognostic factor of hypoparathyroidism incidence risk following TT (24).

In 2018, Vidal Fortuny et al. reported a clinical trial for temporary postoperative hypoparathyroidism of 196 patients who underwent ICG angiography during thyroid surgery (19). 146 patients showed ICG uptake for at least one PG and 50 patients showed no ICG uptake. 499 PGs were removed in total, 387 of them were well perfused from ICG. Out of the 146 patients, none showed symptoms of hypoparathyroidism, whereas of the 50 patients, 11 of them presented hypoparathyroidism on postoperative days 1 and 10. The authors suggested that calcium and PTH levels may no longer need to be tested postoperatively in patients with at least one well-vascularized PG and they proposed ICG perfusion as a predictor of the absence of post-surgical hypoparathyroidism (19).

Jin et al. used in 26 patients with various thyroid pathology an intraoperative navigation system with dedicated software to calculate ROI's Signal-to-Background Ratio detection of ICG. They found that 22 patients who had at least one PG with ICG score >2 had normal PTH levels postoperatively. In contrast, from four patients with PG ICG score <2, two of then developed transient hypoparathyroidism (26).

In another study involving 26 patients of various thyroid pathologies, 30 surgeries were performed (28). By using white light 41/72 of PGs were detected while only 31/72 were detected using ICG NIR. It is worth to note that before resection, benign pathology patients had a higher target-to-background ratio (measured by OsiriX Lite V8.5.2 imaging software) as compared to malignancy patients (28). However, it was not possible to derive any correlation of thyroid pathology with ICG uptake in the rest of the articles reviewed.

Finally, in a recent retrospective cohort study of various thyroid pathology and ICG angiography (ICGA), there were 86 patients with ICGA and 124 control cases. 281/344PGs were identified and two vascularized PGs on ICGA correlated with normal postoperative PTH levels that could potentially predict PG function (27).

Recently, parathyroid autofluorescence (AF) has been introduced as yet another optical technology for identifying and assessing vascularized PGs (35). Parathyroid AF can be captured using a spectrometer (36) or a modified near-infrared imaging camera (17). It has been reported to consistently identify PGs across various disease states, and unlike ICG, no IV fluorescent dye injection is needed (18). Of note, parathyroid AF persists regardless of gland viability and can be detected even following surgical resection of the gland (4). On the other hand, its limitations include i) interference from background thyroid fluorescence hindering PG detection, ii) false-negative results where a visibly viable PG would not retain the dye, and iii) the lack of knowledge on the direct correlation between intraoperative ICG characteristics and postoperative hypocalcemia (16).

Two of the reviewed studies compared AF imaging and ICG imaging to identify PG during TT (5, 12, 16). Alesina et al., have presented a study were five patients underwent video-assisted neck surgery (5). One underwent PTX for HPT1 and four of them TT for multinodular goiter or Graves' disease. They used ICG imaging as well as parathyroid autofluorescence (AF). AF detected 11/16 PGs and ICG 12/16 PGs (5). Both techniques had a similar ability to detect PGs (22). The limitation of these studies is the small sample size and that operating room lights were turned off for AF measurements.

Intraoperative ICG NIR fluorescence imaging angiography is a promising method for identifying and preserving PGs despite the variations observed across the different studies. It is a simple, fast and reproducible method to verify perfusion of individual PGs. This procedure allows an objective selection of the remnant PGs by measuring ICG perfusion and verify that it is well perfused before resecting the other PGs in order to avoid hypoparathyroidism following thyroid surgery (18), as positive remnant PG angiography is correlated with postoperative gland function (37). However, further investigation with randomized control studies are needed to elucidate whether intraoperative ICG NIR angiography can further reduce postoperative hypoparathyroidism (9).

There is some evidence that ICG angiography of normal PGs could predict their postoperative function (1). Furthermore, in hyperparathyroidism undergoing PG resection, ICG angiography permits to perform a mapping of the PG feeding vessels and therefore of the anatomy and location of the adenomas (13, 19, 23).

As cited in the results section, there is a lack of standardization regarding the dose as well as the frequency and the timing of ICG administration, and all these parameters varied greatly in the reviewed articles. As outlined in Table I, many different devices are being used, while there are several technical factors in the various imaging systems that can affect the sensitivity levels of each device (30). Therefore, the big variation observed regarding the aforementioned parameters might be due to the various types of imaging equipment used (1). The advantage of ICG fluorescent angiographic technology in identifying PGs greatly depends on the method to localize and assess PG function in a non-invasive manner (38). It is also of interest to note that following injection, the time of its appearance in the PGs was longer in the two articles using robotic surgery (16, 18) while in the rest of the articles the PGs were visible from 15 sec - 2 min (5, 9, 13, 16, 19) and the adenomas stayed fluorescent for about 20 min (4, 12, 30). Therefore, an overall consensus on the optimal dosage and timing of ICG administration is still lacking (18) and further studies are required.

Eleven of the reviewed articles have reported an estimation of the PG perfusion with ICG; a qualitative score was used in nine of them, with seven of them using a three-grade scoring (13, 19, 20, 23, 26-28) and another two a four-grade score system (14, 15). Quantitative fluorescence signal analysis was used in just two studies (18, 24). Furthermore, there was no real-time quantification and only post-processing was available. The lack of quantitative measurements of PG vascularization with the ICG NIR fluorescence was an important limitation prohibiting comparison of results and impacts on the reliability of the methodology between studies. Therefore, further investigation comparing the use of ICG NIR fluorescence imaging with intraoperative confirmation of PGs and real-time quantitative measurements should be conducted.

In conclusion, we reviewed the current status of ICG-enhanced fluorescence imaging and parathyroid preservation in both thyroid and parathyroid surgery. Although there still are questions regarding its usefulness, current data suggest that ICG imaging of the parathyroid glands during thyroid surgery can secure a reduction in postoperative hypoparathyroidism. Furthermore, it can intraoperatively predict the function of each individual PG and therefore if a well-vascularized PG with high ICG fluorescence intensity can be secured, calcium substitution and postoperative of hypoparathyroidism may become obsolete. However, an overall consensus on the optimal dosage and timing of ICG administration is still lacking and additional randomized clinical trials are necessary for further validating ICG angiography as an intraoperative tool in assessing real-time parathyroid preservation.

Footnotes

  • Authors' Contributions

    NG, SE and GK were involved with drafting of the manuscript; NG and GK performed the literature search and analysis; NG and GK extracted data and performed a quality assessment. NG SE and GK performed the table drafting and the manuscript editing; SE, ZG, TG, DD were involved with the critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. NNI supervised the study.

  • This article is freely accessible online.

  • Conflicts of Interest

    No conflicts of interest or financial relationships to be disclosed.

  • Received November 5, 2019.
  • Revision received November 16, 2019.
  • Accepted November 25, 2019.
  • Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by the International Institute of Anticancer Research.

References

  1. ↵
    1. Abbaci M,
    2. De Leeuw F,
    3. Breuskin I,
    4. Casiraghi O,
    5. Lakhdar AB,
    6. Ghanem W,
    7. Laplace-Builhé C,
    8. Hartl D
    : Parathyroid gland management using optical technologies during thyroidectomy or parathyroidectomy: A systematic review. Oral Oncol 87: 186-196, 2018. PMID: 30527238. DOI: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2018.11.011
    OpenUrl
  2. ↵
    1. Hou F,
    2. Yu Y,
    3. Liang Y
    : Automatic identification of parathyroid in optical coherence tomography images. Lasers Surg Med 49(3): 305-311, 2017. DOI: 10.1002/lsm.22622
    OpenUrl
  3. ↵
    1. Kahramangil B,
    2. Berber E
    : The use of near-infrared fluorescence imaging in endocrine surgical procedures. J Surg Oncol 115(7): 848-855, 2017. DOI: 10.1002/jso.24583
    OpenUrl
  4. ↵
    1. Kim SW,
    2. Lee HS,
    3. Lee KD
    : Intraoperative real-time localization of parathyroid gland with near-infrared fluorescence imaging. Gland Surg 6(5): 516-524, 2017. PMID: 29142843. DOI: 10.21037/gs.2017.05.08
    OpenUrl
  5. ↵
    1. Alesina PF,
    2. Meier B,
    3. Hinrichs J,
    4. Mohmand W,
    5. Walz MK
    : Enhanced visualization of parathyroid glands during video-assisted neck surgery. Arch Surg 403(3): 395-401, 2018. PMID: 29536247. DOI: 10.1007/s00423-018-1665-2
    OpenUrl
  6. ↵
    1. Lavazza M,
    2. Liu X,
    3. Wu C,
    4. Anuwong A,
    5. Kim HY,
    6. Liu R,
    7. Randolph GW,
    8. Inversini D,
    9. Boni L,
    10. Rausei S,
    11. Frattini F,
    12. Dionigi G
    : Indocyanine green-enhanced fluorescence for assessing parathyroid perfusion during thyroidectomy. Gland Surg 5(5): 512-521, 2016. PMID: 27867866. DOI: 10.21037/gs.2016.10.06
    OpenUrl
    1. Chang YK,
    2. Lang BHH
    : To identify or not to identify parathyroid glands during total thyroidectomy. Gland Surg 6(Suppl 1): S20-S29, 2017. PMID: 29322019. DOI: 10.21037/gs.2017.06.13
    OpenUrl
  7. ↵
    1. Alander JT,
    2. Kaartinen I,
    3. Laakso A,
    4. Pätilä T,
    5. Spillmann T,
    6. Tuchin VV,
    7. Venermo M,
    8. Välisuo P
    : A review of indocyanine green fluorescent imaging in surgery. Int J of Biomed Imaging 2012: 940585, 2012. PMID: 22577366. DOI: 10.1155/2012/940585
    OpenUrl
  8. ↵
    1. Sadowski SM
    . Vidal Fortuny J and Triponez F: A reappraisal of the vascular anatomy of the parathyroid gland based on fluorescence techniques. Gland Surg 6(Suppl 1): S30-S37, 2017. PMID: 29322020. DOI: 10.21037/gs.2017.07.10
    OpenUrl
  9. ↵
    1. Liberati A,
    2. Altman DG,
    3. Tetzlaff J,
    4. Mulrow C,
    5. Gøtzsche PC,
    6. Ioannidis JP,
    7. Clarke M,
    8. Devereaux PJ,
    9. Kleijnen J,
    10. Moher D
    : The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate healthcare interventions: explanation and elaboration. BMJ 339: b2700, 2009. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.b2700
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  10. ↵
    1. Moher D,
    2. Liberati A,
    3. Tetzlaff J,
    4. Altman DG
    : Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. BMJ 339: b2535, 2009. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.b2535
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
  11. ↵
    1. Sound S,
    2. Okoh A,
    3. Yigitbas H,
    4. Yazici P,
    5. Berber E
    : Utility of Indocyanine Green Fluorescence Imaging for Intraoperative Localization in Re-operative Parathyroid Surgery. Surg Innov 6(6): 774-779, 2019. PMID: 26508307. DOI: 10.1177/155 3350615613450
    OpenUrl
  12. ↵
    1. Vidal Fortuny J,
    2. Belfontali V,
    3. Sadowski SM,
    4. Karenovics W,
    5. Guigard S,
    6. Triponez F
    : Parathyroid gland angiography with indocyanine green fluorescence to predict parathyroid function after thyroid surgery. Br J Surg 103(5): 537-543, 2016. DOI: 10.1002/bjs.10101
    OpenUrl
  13. ↵
    1. Zaidi N,
    2. Bucak E,
    3. Okoh A,
    4. Yazici P,
    5. Yigitbas H,
    6. Berber E
    : The utility of indocyanine green near-infrared fluorescent imaging in the identification of parathyroid glands during surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism. J Surg Oncol 113(7): 771-774, 2016. DOI: 10.1002/jso.24240
    OpenUrl
  14. ↵
    1. Zaidi N,
    2. Bucak E,
    3. Yazici P,
    4. Soundararajan S,
    5. Okoh A,
    6. Yigitbas H,
    7. Dural C,
    8. Berber E
    : The feasibility of indocyanine green fluorescence imaging for identifying and assessing the perfusion of parathyroid glands during total thyroidectomy. J Surg Oncol 113(7): 775-778, 2016. DOI: 10.1002/jso.24237
    OpenUrl
  15. ↵
    1. Yu HW,
    2. Chung JW,
    3. Yi JW,
    4. Song RY,
    5. Lee JH,
    6. Kwon H,
    7. Kim SJ,
    8. Chai YJ,
    9. Choi JY,
    10. Lee KE
    : Intraoperative localization of the parathyroid glands with indocyanine green and Firefly(R) technology during BABA robotic thyroidectomy. Surg Endosc 31(7): 3020-3027, 2017. PMID: 27864717. DOI: 10.1007/s00464-016-5330-y
    OpenUrl
  16. ↵
    1. Mohsin K,
    2. Alzahrani H,
    3. Bu Ali D,
    4. Kang SW,
    5. Kandil E
    : Robotic transaxillary parathyroidectomy. Gland Surg 6(4): 410-411, 2017. PMID: 28861383. DOI: 10.21037/gs.2017.04.09
    OpenUrl
  17. ↵
    1. Cui L,
    2. Gao Y,
    3. Yu H,
    4. Li M,
    5. Wang B,
    6. Zhou T,
    7. Hu Q
    : Intraoperative parathyroid localization with near-infrared fluorescence imaging using indocyanine green during total parathyroidectomy for secondary hyperparathyroidism. Sci Rep. 7(1): 8193, 2017. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-08347-6.
    OpenUrl
  18. ↵
    1. Vidal Fortuny J,
    2. Sadowski SM,
    3. Belfontali V,
    4. Guigard S,
    5. Poncet A,
    6. Ris F,
    7. Karenovics W,
    8. Triponez F
    : Randomized clinical trial of intraoperative parathyroid gland angiography with indocyanine green fluorescence predicting parathyroid function after thyroid surgery. Br J Surg 105(4): 350-357, 2018. DOI: 10.1002/bjs.10783
    OpenUrl
  19. ↵
    1. DeLong JC,
    2. Ward EP,
    3. Lwin TM,
    4. Brumund KT,
    5. Kelly KJ,
    6. Horgan S,
    7. Bouvet M
    : Indocyanine green fluorescence-guided parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism. Surgery 163(2): 388-392, 2018. PMID: 29129358. DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2017.08.018
    OpenUrl
  20. ↵
    1. Chakedis JM,
    2. Maser C,
    3. Brumund KT,
    4. Bouvet M
    : Indocyanine green fluorescence-guided redo parathyroidectomy. BMJ Case Rep 2, 2015. DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2015-211778
  21. ↵
    1. Kahramangil B,
    2. Berber E
    : Comparison of indocyanine green fluorescence and parathyroid autofluorescence imaging in the identification of parathyroid glands during thyroidectomy. Gland Surg 6(6): 644-648, 2017. PMID: 29302480. DOI: 10.21037/gs.2017.09.04
    OpenUrl
  22. ↵
    1. Vidal Fortuny J,
    2. Sadowski SM,
    3. Belfontali V,
    4. Karenovics W,
    5. Guigard S,
    6. Triponez F
    : Indocyanine green angiography in subtotal parathyroidectomy: Technique for the function of the parathyroid remnant. J Am Coll Surg 223(5): e43-e49, 2016. PMID: 27568330. DOI: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2016.08.540
    OpenUrl
  23. ↵
    1. Lang BH,
    2. Wong CK,
    3. Hung HT,
    4. Wong KP,
    5. Mak KL,
    6. Au KB
    : Indocyanine green fluorescence angiography for quantitative evaluation of in situ parathyroid gland perfusion and function after total thyroidectomy. Surgery 161(1): 87-95, 2017. PMID: 27839936. DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2016.03.037
    OpenUrl
  24. ↵
    1. Jin H,
    2. Fan J,
    3. Yang J,
    4. Liao K,
    5. He Z,
    6. Cui M
    : Application of indocyanine green in the parathyroid detection and protection: Report of 3 cases. Am J Otolaryngol 40(2): 323-330, 2019. PMID: 30482405. DOI: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2018.11.003
    OpenUrl
  25. ↵
    1. Jin H,
    2. Dong Q,
    3. He Z,
    4. Fan J,
    5. Liao K,
    6. Cui M
    : Research on indocyanine green angiography for predicting postoperative hypoparathyroidism. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) 90(3): 487-493, 2019. PMID: 30585665. DOI: 10.1111/cen.13925
    OpenUrl
  26. ↵
    1. Rudin AV,
    2. McKenzie TJ,
    3. Thompson GB,
    4. Farley DR,
    5. Lyden ML
    : Evaluation of parathyroid glands with indocyanine green fluorescence angiography after thyroidectomy. World J Surg 43(6): 1538-1543, 2019. PMID: 30659346. DOI: 10.1007/s00268-019-04909-z
    OpenUrl
  27. ↵
    1. Van den Bos J,
    2. van Kooten L,
    3. Engelen SME,
    4. Lubbers T,
    5. Stassen LPS,
    6. Bouvy ND
    : Feasibility of indocyanine green fluorescence imaging for intraoperative identification of parathyroid glands during thyroid surgery. Head Neck 41(2): 340-348, 2019. PMID: 30536963. DOI: 10.1002/hed.25451
    OpenUrl
  28. ↵
    1. Boni L,
    2. David G,
    3. Mangano A,
    4. Dionigi G,
    5. Rausei S,
    6. Spampatti S,
    7. Cassinotti E,
    8. Fingerhut A
    : Clinical applications of indocyanine green (ICG) enhanced fluorescence in laparoscopic surgery. Surg Endosc 29: 2046-2055, 2015. PMID: 25303914. DOI: 10.1007/s00464-014-3895-x
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  29. ↵
    1. Jitpratoom P,
    2. Anuwong A
    : The use of ICG enhanced fluorescence for the evaluation of parathyroid gland preservation. Gland Surg 6(5): 579-586, 2017. PMID: 29142851. DOI: 10.21037/gs.2017.09.01
    OpenUrl
  30. ↵
    1. Perry D,
    2. Bharara M,
    3. Armstrong DG,
    4. Mills J
    : Intraoperative fluorescence vascular angiography: during tibial bypass. J Diabetes Sci Technol 6: 204-208, 2012. PMID: 22401340. DOI: 10.1177/193229681200600125
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  31. ↵
    1. Chernock RD,
    2. Jackson RS
    : Novel cause of ‘black thyroid’: Intraoperative use of indocyanine green. Endocr Pathol 28(3): 244-246, 2017. PMID: 27797004. DOI: 10.1007/s12022-016-9458-z
    OpenUrl
  32. ↵
    1. Suh Y J,
    2. Choi JY,
    3. Chai YJ,
    4. Kwon H,
    5. Woo JW,
    6. Kim SJ,
    7. Kim KH,
    8. Lee KE,
    9. Lim YT,
    10. Youn YK
    : Indocyanine green as a near-infrared fluorescent agent for identifying parathyroid glands during thyroid surgery in dogs. Surg Endosc 29(9): 2811–2817, 2015. PMID: 25427416. DOI:10.1007/s00464-014-3971-2
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  33. ↵
    1. Hyun H,
    2. Park MH,
    3. Owens EA,
    4. Wada H,
    5. Henary M,
    6. Handgraaf HJ,
    7. Vahrmeijer AL,
    8. Frangioni JV,
    9. Choi HS
    : Structure-inherent targeting of near-infrared fluorophores for parathyroid and thyroid gland imaging. Nat Med 21(2): 192-197, 2015. PMID: 25559343. DOI: 10.1038/nm.3728.
    OpenUrl
  34. ↵
    1. De Leeuw F,
    2. Breuskin I,
    3. Abbaci M,
    4. Casiraghi O,
    5. Mirghani H,
    6. Ben Lakhdar A,
    7. Laplace-Builhé C,
    8. Hartl D
    : Intraoperative near-infrared imaging for parathyroid gland identification by auto-fluorescence: A feasibility study. World J Surg 40(9): 2131-2138, 2016. PMID: 27220510. DOI: 10.1007/s00268-016-3571-5
    OpenUrl
  35. ↵
    1. Ladurner R,
    2. Sommerey S,
    3. Arabi NA,
    4. Hallfeldt KKJ,
    5. Stepp H,
    6. Gallwas JKS
    : Intraoperative near-infrared autofluorescence imaging of parathyroid glands. Surg Endosc 31(8): 3140-3145, 2017. PMID: 27844237. DOI: 10.1007/s00464-016-5338-3
    OpenUrl
  36. ↵
    1. Vidal Fortuny J,
    2. Karenovics W,
    3. Triponez F,
    4. Sadowski SM
    : Intra-operative indocyanine green angiography of the parathyroid gland. World J Surg 40(10): 2378-2381, 2016. PMID: 29322020. DOI: 10.1007/s00268-016-3493-2
    OpenUrl
  37. ↵
    1. Chang YK,
    2. Lang BHH
    : To identify or not to identify parathyroid glands during total thyroidectomy. Gland Surg 6(Suppl 1): S20-S29, 2017. PMID: 29322019. DOI: 10.21037/gs.2017.06.13
    OpenUrl
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

In Vivo
Vol. 34, Issue 1
January-February 2020
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Back Matter (PDF)
  • Ed Board (PDF)
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on In Vivo.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Intraoperative Indocyanine Green (ICG) Angiography for the Identification of the Parathyroid Glands: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives
(Your Name) has sent you a message from In Vivo
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the In Vivo web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
2 + 1 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Intraoperative Indocyanine Green (ICG) Angiography for the Identification of the Parathyroid Glands: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives
ELEFTHERIOS SPARTALIS, GEORGIOS NTOKOS, KONSTANTINOS GEORGIOU, GEORGIOS ZOGRAFOS, GERASIMOS TSOUROUFLIS, DIMITRIOS DIMITROULIS, NIKOLAOS I. NIKITEAS
In Vivo Jan 2020, 34 (1) 23-32; DOI: 10.21873/invivo.11741

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Reprints and Permissions
Share
Intraoperative Indocyanine Green (ICG) Angiography for the Identification of the Parathyroid Glands: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives
ELEFTHERIOS SPARTALIS, GEORGIOS NTOKOS, KONSTANTINOS GEORGIOU, GEORGIOS ZOGRAFOS, GERASIMOS TSOUROUFLIS, DIMITRIOS DIMITROULIS, NIKOLAOS I. NIKITEAS
In Vivo Jan 2020, 34 (1) 23-32; DOI: 10.21873/invivo.11741
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Materials and Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

Cited By...

  • Relationship between parathyroid adenoma size, weight and histological subtypes with perioperative serum levels
  • Silicon-rhodamine functionalized evocalcet probes (EvoSiR) potently and selectively label calcium sensing receptors (CaSR) in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo
  • Detection of Mediastinal Lymph Node Metastases Using Indocyanine Green (ICG) Fluorescence Imaging in an Orthotopic Implantation Model
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Research Progress on the Microregulatory Mechanisms of Fertilization: A Review
  • Gastric Cancer Invading the Pancreas: A Review of the Role of Pancreatectomy
  • Circulating microRNAs and Clinicopathological Findings of Papillary Thyroid Cancer: A Systematic Review
Show more Reviews

Keywords

  • indocyanine green
  • fluorescence
  • parathyroid glands
  • thyroidectomy
  • parathyroidectomy
  • review
In Vivo

© 2026 In Vivo

Powered by HighWire