Risk factors for incidental parathyroidectomy during thyroidectomy

Incidental parathyroidectomy is a common event in thyroid surgery. The literature shows a finding of parathyroid glands ranging from 6.4% to 31% in pathological specimens of the thyroid gland.ObjectiveTo collect the amount of parathyroid glands found in surgical specimens of thyroidectomy and correlate with the histopathological and demographic variables.MethodsRetrospective study based on pathological reports of thyroidectomy from January 2007 to December 2008.Results442 patients were submitted to total thyroidectomy, and 2.93% had parathyroid glands, which corresponded to 13 of this total. The presence of papillary thyroid carcinoma associated with incidental parathyroidectomy was 10.11%, compared to the benign lesion: 1.4%.ConclusionPapillary thyroid carcinoma was the variable associated with increased number of incidental parathyroidectomy.