EndocrinePostoperative hypoparathyroidism after thyroidectomy: Efficient and cost-effective diagnosis and treatment
Section snippets
Methods
Over a period of 3 years, patients with benign disease of the thyroid gland were followed prospectively after (total) thyroidectomy without lymphadenectomy (central [level 6] neck dissection) but with extended dissection of both inferior (recurrent) laryngeal nerves. Thyroidectomy was performed in a tertiary referral university hospital by experienced endocrine surgeons. Informed consent was obtained from all patients.
Results
We included 237 consecutive patients (191 female, 46 male; mean age 53.7 years; range 16–87) with normal thyroid metabolism but with bilateral thyroid nodules who underwent (total) thyroidectomy without central neck dissection but with extended dissection of both inferior (recurrent) laryngeal nerves. Histology revealed benign goiter in all patients. Based on results from a prior study,21 parathyroid hormone metabolism was evaluated on the morning of postoperative day 1 (12–24 hours
Discussion
Postoperative hypocalcemia caused by temporarily “disturbed” parathyroid metabolism is a clinically relevant complication that can occur after thyroid operation. Temporary and permanent postoperative hypoparathyroidism have been described with a prevalence of 1.6–53.6% and 0.2–9.3%, respectively.3, 4, 5 Permanent hypoparathyroidism was documented in 0.8% of our patients after (total) thyroidectomy.
There are several reasons for decreased sCa after total thyroidectomy. Hemodilution during any
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Disclosure statement: The authors have nothing to declare.