A prospective evaluation of novel methods to intraoperatively distinguish parathyroid tissue utilizing a parathyroid hormone assay.

Background: Frozen section analysis has traditionally been used to confirm the identity of parathyroid tissue intraoperatively; however, it is time-consuming and costly and requires the excision of a significant portion of tissue. An intraoperative biopsy and analysis with a parathyroid hormone (PTH) assay is a possible alternative; however, this technique has not been perfected.

Methods: Two hundred twenty-three tissue specimens were collected prospectively from patients undergoing neck exploration.