Endoscopic surgery of the parathyroid glands: methods and principles.

Targeted endoscopic parathyroidectomy without gas insufflation is a relatively non-invasive means of discovering and resecting parathyroid adenomas in sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism. This standardized technique depends on the quality of the preoperative imaging: cervical ultrasound and sestamibi scintigraphy, and can be optimized by preoperative insertion of an ultrasound-guided "harpoon" and rapid peroperative parathyroid hormone analysis. Failure rates range between 1.7% and 4%.