Short- and Long-Term Outcome of Total Parathyroidectomy with Immediate Autografting versus Subtotal Parathyroidectomy in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease

A retrospective study was performed in 36 patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) comparing total parathyroidectomy followed by immediate autografting into the forearm (total PTX + IA) with parathyroidectomy (subtotal PTX) over a five-year period. Twenty-eight patients underwent subtotal PTX and 8 had total PTX + IA. The two surgical methods were evaluated with respect to preoperative severity of hyperparathyroidism, perioperative morbidity, and the incidence of recurrent hyperparathyroidism. Eleven patients in total (30.6%) developed recurrent hyperparathyroidism; 2/8 (25%) in the total PTX + IA group compared to 9/28 (32.1%) in the subtotal PTX group (p = 0.699). The median time to recurrence was longer in the total PTX + IA group (39 vs. 16 months), and the median long-term postoperative PTH value was lower (81 vs. 199 ng/l), but these differences did not reach statistical significance. In conclusion, the incidence of recurrent hyperparathyroidism is high regardless of surgical modality. However, total PTX + IA may produce more favorable results with respect to median postoperative PTH level and time to recurrence.