[Reoperative parathyroid surgery. 350 cervicotomies. 11 reoperations. Remarks]

One or more repeat operations were necessary to obtain full recovery in 11 out of 350 patients receiving surgery for hyperparathyroidism. Analysis of factors, sometimes multiple, leading to failure showed: poor surgical technique (3 cases), typical (2 cases) or rare (3 cases) ectopias, a supernumerary gland (2 cases), or lack of recognition of hyperplasia of the total parathyroid system (3 cases). Indications for and tactical modalities of reoperation are discussed, and emphasis placed on the unreliability of techniques employed pre-operatively to locate the diseased gland, the very rare need for sternotomy (1 case), and the remarkable possibilities of parathyroid autografts (4 cases). (4 cases).