Parathyroidectomy under local anaesthesia

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Parathyroidectomy under local anaesthesia

Parathyroid gland surgery is performed, in most cases, under general anaesthesia. This gives the advantage of a complete check of the vital functions of the patients with anaesthetic monitoring, while at the same time it allows  the surgeon to carefully examine the neck, to locate and remove the ailing parathyroid (no matter how deep, in the anatomic sense, it lies), without the slightest inconvenience for the patient.

However, there are cases where local anaesthesia is opted for in parathyroidectomy. It is usually those cases where the health of the patient is especially taxed and general anaesthesia is judged by the Anaesthesiologist as precarious. A basic prerequisite for its implementation is the clear imaging of the ailing gland (-s) via a pre-operative ultrasound and scintigraphy.

Dr Karvounis implements parathyroidectomy under local anaesthesia selectively. It is a technique that was internationally first described in the 90s while he himself was presented with the award for the best scientific report (Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy under local anaesthesia” E.Karvounis and J.Lynn) at the International Surgical Forum of 2002.