Outpatient and Minimally Invasive Approaches Or Safe and Effective Options for Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery

Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy also carries no risk of postoperative permanent hypoparathyroidism, or adynamic bone disease. This advantage is due to the improved preoperative localization with imaging, allowing identification and removal of the single adenoma, leaving the other three normal parathyroid glands nondisturbed, intact and functioning.

Outpatient thyroidectomy and minimally invasive parathyroidectomy also carry an additional benefit: cost savings. In Dr. Terris’s study, costs were significantly lower for outpatients ($7,974) than for inpatients ($9,578, p = 0.0006). Although reduced costs are not a compelling reason for surgeons to consider alternatives to traditional patient management, the comparable efficacy findings, improved safety outcomes, and desirable patient benefits demonstrated by these two studies should encourage surgeons to consider minimally invasive and/or outpatient surgery for selected patients with thyroid and parathyroid disease.

©2007 The Triological Society