Treating intra-thyroid parathyroid adenoma by radiofrequency is a valuable alternative to hemithyroidectomy

Abstract

Background

Parathyroid adenoma (PA) is the most common cause of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). One infrequent scenario (0.7%–6%) is represented by intra-thyroid PA (I-PA), an ectopic variant of the parathyroid gland included in the thyroid parenchyma. Radiofrequency (RF) of I-PA seems to be an excellent alternative to hemithyroidectomy for these patients. The present study aimed to report three cases of PHPT and I-PA treated with RF at two institutions.

Materials and methods

These two institutions share guidelines for thyroid RF. At both institutions, cases with surgical indication and difficult PA localization are discussed during thyroid multidisciplinary meetings involving all disciplines involved in managing these cases. RF was performed using a Viva RF System generator (STARMED). Ultrasound contrast evaluation was performed using a SonoVue (Bracco). All patients were followed-up by an expert endocrinologist.

Results

Three cases had indications for treating I-PA. All patients were proposed to undergo RF rather than hemithyroidectomy, and accepted this option. RF of I-PA was performed with a power of 30–50 W and delivering a total between 0.02 and 0.69 Kcal. The active treatment lasted just more than 1 min. Post-treatment follow-up revealed PTH and calcium normalization.

Conclusion

This study showed highly encouraging results in favor of treating I-PA with RF.

Keywords:

• Parathyroid adenoma
• thermal ablation
• radiofrequency
• surgery
• parathyroid hormone

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

We confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available in the article.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.