Endoscopic lateral parathyroidectomy as surgical treatment for patients with primary hyperparathyroidism

Abstract Background Most surgeons have rapidly accepted the use of minimally invasive surgical approaches for the treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism. The role of the endoscope in neck surgery is still being discussed due to its technical difficulty and complex patient selection criteria. Materials and methods A prospective study was conducted between April 2010 and April 2013. It included patients diagnosed with sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism by locating a single adenoma using ultrasound and sestamibi scintigraphy imaging. All patients agreed to be included in the study. Experienced endocrine surgeons that had been trained in endocrine minimally invasive surgery performed the procedure. The same surgical technique was used in all of the cases. The demographic and clinical variables were evaluated. A descriptive analysis was performed on the data measuring mean, standard deviation, and range. Results A total of 28 endoscopic lateral parathyroidectomies were performed. All patients were diagnosed with sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism. The mean age was 68 years (59–89). No intraoperative complications were registered. Postoperative morbidity was comparable to that reported in the classical approach. A favourable outcome was observed in 27 of the 28 patients (96%) after a mean follow-up time of 22 (9–53) months. Conclusions An endoscopic approach for sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism is feasible and reproducible, and it obtains comparable results to the classical open surgery. Several factors make this technique suitable for highly specialised hospitals with a high patient volume and specialised endocrine surgery units.