title: Comparison of the incidence of postoperative hypocalcemia following total thyroidectomy vs completion thyroidectomy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the rate of postoperative hypocalcemia following completion thyroidectomy (CT), in comparison with the hypocalcemia rate following total thyroidectomy (TT).
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study, performed at the McGill University Thyroid Cancer Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from 2007 to 2012.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical records of adult patients undergoing CT and TT operated by a single surgeon were reviewed. Data were extracted for demographics, postoperative calcium levels, surgical logs, and final surgical pathology. Hypocalcemia was defined as corrected serum calcium level ≤ 1.90 mmol/L, with concurrent serum parathyroid hormone <8 ng/L, and/or any signs or symptoms of hypocalcemia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 68 CTs and 146 TTs. Transient hypocalcemia occurred in 1 of 68 (1.5%) and 18 of 146 (12.5%) patients in the CT and TT groups, respectively. The rate of hypocalcemia was significantly lower in the CT compared with the TT group (P = .02). In both groups, there were no cases of permanent hypocalcemia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The risk of transient of hypocalcemia in patients undergoing CT is significantly lower than the rate of hypocalcemia in patients undergoing TT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada Department of Medicine, Segal Cancer Centre and Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Padeh Medical Center, Poriya, Israel Merchavy@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Shlomo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Merchavy
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Tal
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Marom
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Veronique-Isabelle
authors.initials: VI
authors.lastname: Forest
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hier
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mlynarek
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Tobial
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: McHugh
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Sir Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Payne
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006996:Hypocalcemia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: completion thyroidectomy; complication; hypocalcemia; hypoparathyroidism; total thyroidectomy