Lessons Learned From a Single-Surgeon Experience of More Than 1700 Parathyroidectomies

OBJECTIVE

To define critical elements that contribute to successful parathyroidectomy based on a high-volume single-surgeon experience and explore learning curve characteristics.

STUDY DESIGN

Systematic analysis of prospectively maintained quality assurance database.

SETTING

Academic tertiary care endocrine surgery practice.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

In total, 4737 consecutive patients who underwent thyroid or parathyroid surgery from 2004 to 2020 were identified. Demographic data acquisition was undertaken on a subset of these patients who had initial surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism during the academic years 2005 to 2018. Patients with renal or syndromic hyperparathyroidism and those undergoing reoperative surgery were excluded.

RESULTS

From 1710 patients who underwent parathyroid surgery, 1082 met inclusion criteria in order to focus on a homogeneous data set. These patients had a mean age of 60.1 ± 12.5 years and 76.4% were female. The overall cure rate was 98.3%, reflecting a success rate that increased from 95.5% during the first 200 cases to 99.7% over the final 300 cases. The complication rate was 1.7%. Over 2 decades, the patient phenotype evolved toward milder disease and smaller adenomas. A learning curve of 200 cases was required to become a proficient parathyroid surgeon; to achieve exceptional results required several hundred additional cases. Parathyroid surgery represents a higher proportion of an endocrine surgery practice than previously (54.0% in 2019 compared with 25.5% in 2004).

CONCLUSION

A focused practice dedicated to endocrine surgery yields surgical volumes exceeding 500 cases annually. There has been a steady shift toward parathyroid surgery. A lengthy learning curve can be shortened by pursuit of several specific strategies that are outlined in detail.

Staging and surgical approaches in gastric cancer: a clinical practice guideline

BACKGROUND

Resection is the cornerstone of cure for gastric adenocarcinoma; however, several aspects of surgical intervention remain controversial or are suboptimally applied at a population level, including staging, extent of lymphadenectomy (lnd), minimum number of lymph nodes that have to be assessed, gross resection margins, use of minimally invasive surgery, and relationship of surgical volumes with patient outcomes and resection in stage iv gastric cancer.

METHODS

Literature searches were conducted in databases including medline (up to 10 June 2016), embase (up to week 24 of 2016), the Cochrane Library and various other practice guideline sites and guideline developer Web sites. A practice guideline was developed.

RESULTS

One guideline, seven systematic reviews, and forty-eight primary studies were included in the evidence base for this guidance document. Seven recommendations are presented.

CONCLUSIONS

All patients should be discussed at a multidisciplinary team meeting, and computed tomography (ct) imaging of chest and abdomen should always be performed when staging patients. Diagnostic laparoscopy is useful in the determination of M1 disease not visible on ct images. A D2 lnd is preferred for curative-intent resection of gastric cancer. At least 16 lymph nodes should be assessed for adequate staging of curative-resected gastric cancer. Gastric cancer surgery should aim to achieve an R0 resection margin. In the metastatic setting, surgery should be considered only for palliation of symptoms. Patients should be referred to higher-volume centres and those that have adequate support to manage potential complications. Laparoscopic resections should be performed to the same standards as those for open resections, by surgeons who are experienced in both advanced laparoscopic surgery and gastric cancer management.