Inadvertent parathyroidectomy risk factors in 1,373 thyroidectomies-male gender and presence of lymphadenopathy, but not size of gland, independently increase the risk.

Background: Inadvertent parathyroidectomy (IP) during thyroid operations is a recognised phenomenon. We evaluated the incidence of IP during thyroid operations in a large case-series and identified the risk factors involved.

Methods: Retrospective review of all thyroidectomy operations [total thyroidectomies (TT) and near-total thyroidectomies (NTT)] performed in a single institution from January 2004 to January 2009.