title: The surgical management of asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism: proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The surgical management of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) has undergone considerable advances over the past two decades. The purpose of this report is to review these advances.
  
  
  METHODS
  This subgroup was constituted by the Steering Committee of the Fourth International Workshop on the Management of Asymptomatic Primary Hyperparathyroidism to address key questions related to the surgical management of PHPT.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data since the last International Workshop were presented and discussed in detail. The topics included improvements in preoperative imaging, intraoperative adjuncts, refinements in local and regional anesthesia, and rapid intraoperative PTH assays.
  
  
  METHODS
  Questions were developed by the International Task Force on PHPT. A comprehensive literature search for relevant studies was undertaken. After extensive review and discussion, the subgroup agreed on what recommendations should be made to the Expert Panel regarding surgical approaches to parathyroidectomy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  1) All patients with PHPT who meet surgical criteria should be referred to an experienced endocrine surgeon to discuss the risks, benefits, and potential complications of surgery. 2) Patients who do not meet surgical criteria and in whom there are no medical contraindications to surgery may request a visit with an experienced endocrine surgeon. Alternatively, a multidisciplinary endocrine conference with surgeon involvement could be employed to address all relevant issues. 3) Imaging is not a diagnostic procedure; it is a localization procedure to help the surgeon optimize the operative plan. 4) The frequency of hereditary forms of PHPT may be underappreciated and needs to be assessed with increased vigilance. And 5) surgery is likely to benefit patients due to high cure rates, low complication rates, and the likelihood of reversing skeletal manifestations.
authors.affiliation: Yale University School of Medicine (R.U.), New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8062; Uppsala University Hospital (G.A.), 751 05 Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Diagnostic Imaging of Centro Oncologico Fiorentino (C.B.), Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy; University of California (Q.-Y.D.), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California 94121; University of Pisa (P.M.), 56126 Pisa, Italy; Medical University Vienna (B.N.), A-1090 Vienna, Austria; and University of Florence (F.T.), 50121 Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Udelsman
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Åkerström
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Biagini
authors.forename: Quan-Yang
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Duh
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Miccoli
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Niederle
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tonelli
mesh_terms: D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases; D004493:Education; D004704:Endocrinology / Q000592:standards*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D049950:Hyperparathyroidism, Primary / Q000601:surgery*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic