Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 24, 2026
Establishment of a Simple and Effective Rat Model for Intraoperative Parathyroid Gland Imaging
Published on: August 17, 2022
Methylene blue and parathyroid adenoma localization: Three new cases of a rare cutaneous complication
Elliot D Lieberman1, Rakhi Thambi, Kristen B Pytynia
1Corresponding author: Kristen Pytynia, MD, MD Anderson Regional Care Center, 19770 Kingsland Blvd., Unit 2050, Suite 100, Houston, TX 77094. Email: kbpytynia@mdanderson.org From North Shore Ear, Nose and Throat Associates, Highland Park, Ill. (Dr. Lieberman); the Department of Otolaryngology, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine (Dr. Thambi); and the Department of Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston (Dr. Pytynia).
Abstract:
Methylene blue has been safely used for the localization of parathyroid glands during parathyroidectomy, and only a few adverse effects have been documented. Methylene blue administration as a cause of pulse-oximetry-related skin injury is extremely rare. We describe 2 such cases in patients who developed a blister on the second digit at the pulse oximetry site after an uncomplicated excision of a parathyroid adenoma. In another case, a patient became bradycardic intraoperatively; she was successfully resuscitated, but she incurred a second-degree burn at the pulse oximetry site. In all 3 cases, the burns resolved with local wound care. We publish this report to alert surgeons and anesthesiologists to the risk of skin complications with the use of high-dose intraoperative methylene blue.
