RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Primary hyperparathyroidism is characterized by elevated plasma calcium levels due to inappropriate secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH) in most cases by an adenomatous or hyperplastic parathyroid. We present a retrospective analysis of a large cohort of patients operated on of parathyroidectomy in our center analyzing their diagnostic characteristics, intraoperative match and surgical outcomes. METHODS: We included patients with benign parathyroid disease who underwent parathyroidectomy associated or not with hemi- or total thyroidectomy at the Sant'Anna University Hospital of Ferrara between September 2003 and September 2022. RESULTS: In our study 371 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The most widely used preoperative imaging method was ultrasound, followed by 99mTc-sestamibi scintigraphy. In most cases, preoperative imaging correctly localized the affected parathyroid. Considering the intraoperative site of the pathologically affected parathyroid, the majority of pathological parathyroids were located in the lower districts of the neck and a smaller percentage in the upper, intermediate, and ectopic sites. Postoperative complications were infrequent. CONCLUSIONS: The main challenge in parathyroid surgery lies in the difficulty in localizing the pathological parathyroid at the surgical site, which can lengthen the surgical time by increasing comorbidities. Currently, the results on pathological parathyroid localization are good. Technology needs to be developed toward greater diagnostic accuracy and minimally invasive surgical approaches.
RESUMO
The authors describe the case of a 58 years old man, affected by squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsil, who underwent left tonsillectomy with bilateral neck dissection, followed by radiotherapy. After a 6 months period, the patient began to suffer from dysphonia, dysphagia and loss of weight: a painless neoformation was detected at the right lobe of the tyhroid, resulted a metastasis of the tonsillar neoplasm. The search for intranodular thyroglobulin was negative; the patient underwent thyroidectomy which showed a massive infiltration of the right cricothyroid space, cricoid and thyroid wing cartilage necrosis and intralaryngeal tumor infiltration. The authors describe the thyroid metastasis treatment, present an up-to-date review of the literature and suggest a thyroid careful clinical evaluation in every patient with a previous history of oropharyngeal cancer.