utility of PEt / Ct in Detecting Papillary thyroid Cancer Recurrence

of an ectopic, overly-descended superior parathyroid adenoma in both primary and reoperative parathyroid surgery. Methods: A prospective analysis of consecutive patients undergoing parathyroid surgery in a tertiary endocrine surgery practice from March 2004 to April 2013 was undertaken. All patients undergoing curative primary or reoperative surgery for single-gland parathyroid adenomas were identified. Clinical records, imaging studies, operative reports, and pathology findings were evaluated, and a subset of patients who had an ectopic, overly-descended superior parathyroid adenoma were further analyzed. The prevalence of this entity in both primary and revision surgeries was calculated. Results: Among the 561 parathyroidectomies accomplished during this time frame, 270 patients were determined to have single-gland parathyroid adenomas, including 251 primary operations and 19 reoperative procedures referred from outside institutions. An ectopic, overly-descended superior parathyroid adenoma was present in 23 (9.2%) primary cases and 4 (21.1%) reoperative cases. While this condition was more common in the reoperative setting, the incidence in the primary setting was higher than anticipated, and the difference did not reach statistical significance (P = .1). Conclusions: An overly-descended superior parathyroid adenoma is common in both the reoperative and primary settings. Recognition and proper treatment of this entity at the initial operation will reduce the need for revision surgery.