Unilateral surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism on the basis of technetium Tc 99m sestamibi and iodine 123 subtraction scanning.
OBJECTIVE
Parathyroid scanning, based on simultaneous recording of technetium Tc 99m sestamibi and iodine 123 images, is able to identify patients with multiple parathyroid gland disease and is a safe imaging technique for unilateral parathyroid surgery.


METHODS
Scintigraphic criteria of eligibility for unilateral surgery were prospectively tested against findings of conventional bilateral surgery.


METHODS
Patients referred to an endocrine surgeon in a university hospital.


METHODS
Seventy consecutive patients with primary hyperparathyroidism had dual-isotope scanning before conventional surgery. Forty-one patients had scan findings compatible with unilateral surgery, with a single focus of high intensity seen on the anterior and lateral views. The remaining 29 patients had 1 or more criteria of ineligibility: (1) scan findings pointing to multiple gland disease, (2) no well-identified focus, (3) contralateral thyroid nodule requiring surgical management, or (4) family history of hyperparathyroidism or multiple endocrine disease.


METHODS
Number of enlarged parathyroid glands at surgical inspection and calcemia follow-up.


RESULTS
None of the 41 patients, with a single well-defined focus on the scan image, showed evidence of multiple parathyroid involvement. Each parathyroid adenoma was resected from the precise site predicted by the subtraction scan. Nine patients (13%) had surgical findings of multiple parathyroid gland disease. All 9 were ineligible based on preoperative image findings.


CONCLUSIONS
Unilateral surgery can be safely offered to 60% of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism, on the basis of simultaneous (99m)Tc-sestamibi and (123)I scanning. This may reduce the length of the operation, anesthesia requirements, and hospital stay, and the risks of hypoparathyroidism and injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve.
Hindié
E
E
Service de Médecine Nucléaire, Hôpital Saint-Antoine, 184, rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75571 Paris Cedex 12, France. elif.hindie@sat.ap-hop-paris.fr
Mellière
D
D
Jeanguillaume
C
C
Ureña
P
P
deLabriolle-Vaylet
C
C
Perlemuter
L
L
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006961:Hyperparathyroidism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi
D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi