Incidence of hypoparathyroidism after radical surgery for thyroid carcinoma and autotransplantation of parathyroid glands.

Ninety-seven consecutive patients had radical surgery for thyroid carcinoma. Eighty-six of these had one or more parathyroids implanted into muscle tissue. At follow-up, ninety-one patients were normocalcemic without substitution, fifteen of those with only implanted glands. The results show that radical surgery can be performed with a low incidence of hypoparathyroidism, provided the parathyroids are carefully searched for and liberally implanted.