Progress in protection techniques of parathyroid glands during thyroidectomy / 国际外科学杂志

ABSTRACT

The incidence of thyroid cancer has grown in the past 20 years, the number of patients with surgical complications grows as well. Hypoparathyroidism is one of the severe complications which reduces the quality of life after thyroidectomy. How to preserve the structure and function of parathyroid glands and to avoid the pitfalls of the operation has always been the key point of thyroidectomy. This article reviews the recent progress of embryology and surgical anatomy of parathyroid glands, identification techniques and auxiliary imaging tools for the identification and preservation of parathyroid glands in thyroidectomy.