Postoperative Transient Hypoparathyroidism Research Articles

Objective: To evaluate the incidence of post-operative hypoparathyroidism (PoH) following subtotal thyroidectomy for benign thyroid disease with routine parathyroid autotransplantation (PTHAT) and to compare it with in situ preservation of parathyroid glands. Methods: In a prospective study, 40 cases of benign thyroid disease undergoing bilateral subtotal thyroidectomy were randomly divided into two groups of routine PTHAT (study group) and in situ preservation of parathyroid glands (control group). Postoperative clinical and biochemical monitoring was done to look for incidence and degree of PoH among cases of both the groups. Follow up was done at 15 days and one year to look for transient and permanent PoH respectively. Results: Pre-operative and intra-operative parameters were comparable among cases of the two groups. In the post-operative period, clinical hypocalcemia was observed in almost half of the cases of both groups. Biochemical hypocalcemia was observed in three cases of the control group and none of the study group cases. Transient PoH was observed in three cases of the control group and two cases of the study group. Permanent PoH was seen in one case of the control group and none of the study group cases. However, the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05), possibly due to the small size of the study. Conclusion: PoH is a debilitating condition following bilateral thyroid surgery and it can safely and easily be prevented by routine PTHAT of at least one parathyroid gland.