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. OBJECTIVE: To collect the amount of parathyroid glands found in surgical specimens of thyroidectomy and correlate with the histopathological and demographic variables. METHODS: Retrospective study based on pathological reports of thyroidectomy from January 2007 to December 2008. RESULTS: 442 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%. CONCLUSION: Papillary thyroid carcinoma was the variable associated with increased number of incidental parathyroidectomy.