Protection of Parathyroid Glands and Laryngeal Recurrent Nerves During the Reoperation on Thyroid Glands

Objective:To explore the effective method to protect parathyroid glands from resection by mistake and avoid laryngeal recurrent nerve injury during reoperation on thyroid gland.Methods: Retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 67 cases underwent the second operation on thyroid glands from January 2005 to March 2010.Results: Among 67 cases underwent reoperation on thyroid gland,7 cases had recurrent laryngeal nerve injury,one of which was permanent,3 cases had slightly hypoparathyroidism.Conclusions: To protect parathyroid form injury,it is important to recognize them and to preserve their blood supply as much as possible,especially when separate the upper pole,the lower pole,and the dorsal of thyroid during the reoperation on thyroid glands.It is a necessary procedure to expose laryngeal recurrent nerve to avoid it injury.