Experience in autotransplantation of fresh and cryopreserved parathyroid tissue is reported. In 100 patients autografting of fresh tissue was combined with total parathyroidectomy (TPX + AT). Cryopreserved parathyroid glands were grafted after reoperation for primary (p) and secondary (s) hyperparathyroidism (HPT) in 4 patients (3p and 1s), and in 3 with TPX + AT for sHPT after the fresh tissue grafted during initial surgery failed to function. One to seven years after TPX + AT, nearly 90% of 65 patients presented with normal graft function, 7.7% were hypocalcemic, and 3% exhibited graft‐dependent hypercalcemia. In only 31% of all patients could a PTH‐gradient—grafted versus non‐grafted arm—be demonstrated. All 3 patients with pHPT who received cryopreserved autologous tissue showed normal function 6–34 months later. In 2 of 4 patients with sHPT the autografted cryopreserved tissue secretes enough PTH to maintain a normal calcium level. The results of autotransplantation of cryopreserved tissue do not depend on the length of cryopreservation but on accurate freezing and thawing technique.
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Rothmund et al. (1984) studied this question.