Morbidity and mortality of parathyroid surgery - a retrospective analysis

The incidence of parathyroid - glandula parathyreoideae (PTG) diseases has been increasing worldwide. Unlike benign tumours, the incidence of malignant PTG tumours is rather a rare diagnosis. The morbidity of parathyroid surgery is associated with surgical removal of one or more pathologically altered parathyroid glands, particularly parathyroid adenoma associated with primary hyperparathyroidism (HPPT), but also hyperplasia associated with secondary or tertiary HPPT, and last but not least, HPPT due to parathyroid cancer.

A retrospective statistical analysis was performed in the set of patients undergoing surgery for a parathyroid disorder at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Maxillofacial Surgery, 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Military University Hospital in Prague in 2013-2019 (7-year period). In this period, 127 procedures were performed. The incidences of morbidity, mortality, complications and lethality were analysed.

Parathyroid surgery was performed in 20 male and 107 female patients. The mean age was 54.7 years, and the morbidity expressing recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy was 0.7% of the nerves exposed during the procedure. The incidence of permanent normal postoperative calcaemia was 98.43%, demonstrated by a decrease in serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. In 12 cases, this state was achieved only after a surgical revision (primary procedure for primary HPPT in 2 cases; 10 patients came for surgical revision with secondary or tertiary HPPT from other centres). Decreased PTH levels were demonstrated intraoperatively in 12.6% patients using the so-called PTH assay (a rapid serum PTH assay). Surgery for secondary or tertiary hyperparathyroidism was done in 33 patients (26% procedures). PTG surgery lethality (mortality) was divided into perioperative mortality within 24 hours from the procedure and early mortality within 120 hours. Lethality related to PTG surgery was 0.0% including patients undergoing the surgery while being in a dialysis programme and those with kidney transplant.

Surgery is always associated with complications, with morbidity and mortality. Experience of endocrinology surgeons of all specialties is reflected in a very low incidence of RLN injuries and in sufficient oncological, or respectively, surgical radicality. This, in connection with other medical fields of endocrinology, nephrology, transplantology, nuclear medicine and oncology, allows a safe and effective treatment of all PTG disorders with a good prognosis for the patients. In those with secondary or tertiary HPPT, it not only improves their quality of life, which was not explored in our study, but in many cases it is an essential step for listing the patient for the transplant surgery. The current level of experience in the field of parathyroid carcinoma does not enable us to formulate any conclusions in terms of prognosis which should be considered as very serious in all cases.