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Updated: May 31, 2026
Establishment of a Simple and Effective Rat Model for Intraoperative Parathyroid Gland Imaging
Published on: August 17, 2022
Surgeon-performed ultrasound as preoperative localization study in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism
T M van Ginhoven1, A N Morks, T Schepers
1Reinier de Graaf Groep, Department of Surgery, Delft, The Netherlands.
Background:
Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy is the treatment of choice for single-gland primary hyperparathyroidism. However, the exact location of the abnormal gland has to be established. Sestamibi scintigraphy, computed tomography and ultrasound (US) are commonly used modalities. We describe our experience in a non-academic center with surgeon-performed US (S-US) of the neck as preoperative localization study in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT).
Methods:
Patients with a biochemically proven diagnosis of PHPT and preoperative S-US were included. Data were recorded prospectively. Perioperative gland location was compared to the preoperative S-US to determine sensitivity, specificity and accuracy rates.
Results:
Two of the 50 patients who underwent S-US were not subjected to surgery. In 85% of the patients analyzed by S-US, the appropriate abnormal gland(s) were identified. In 11%, no gland was identified, but abnormal glands were found during surgery. Sensitivity of S-US in our hospital is 85%, with a positive predictive value of 97%.
Conclusions:
We achieved a satisfactory sensitivity rate. S-US provides anatomic information to the surgeon which enables a more detailed operation planning, and it is a valuable diagnostic modality for patients with PHPT in our opinion. We hope that our data encourage other centers to implement this technique as well.
