RESUMO
The use of pre-operative imaging for localization of primary parathyroid adenoma may influence the duration and results of parathyroidectomy. The current study was aimed to evaluate the efficiency of localization of parathyroid adenoma by Tc-99m-sestamibi (MIBI) scintigraphy and compare the results with those achieved by the use of preoperative ultrasound. Seventy five patients, aged 25 to 83 years with primary hyperparathyroidism were operated due to primary adenoma in Rabin Medical Center from January 1995 to April 1997. Fifty of them had a preoperative MIBI scintigraphy and ultrasound for localization of parathyroid adenoma, while 25 had a preoperative ultrasound alone. Ultrasound identified correctly the adenoma in 84 percent of the cases, as compared to 96 percent identified by MIBI scintigraphy (p<0.01). MIBI scintigraphy shortened operation length from 120ñ20 min to 80ñ15 min (p<0.05) and reduced the number of frozen sections from 2.2ñ0.4 to 1.1ñ0.3 (p<0.001). MIBI scintigraphy is the most efficient modality for preoperative localization of parathyroid adenoma as compared to other imaging procedures, and can shorten operative time