Does Quality of Life Improve Following Minimally Invasive Parathyroid Surgery?

The only established treatment for the complete resolution of hyperparathyroidism is the surgical removal of the affected glands. While proven as a means of resolving hyperparathyroidism, there have been no comprehensive preoperative and postoperative assessments to determine quality of life for patients undergoing minimally invasive vs. traditional parathyroid surgery. Quality of life will be assessed in subjects undergoing minimally invasive procedures and traditional procedures using a clinically validated survey. We will gather data one week preoperatively as well as one week and one year postoperatively then compare the survey results from the two study groups to each other. We will also compare the study groups to a control group consisting of patients undergoing thyroid surgery. Our ultimate goal is to clarify if minimally invasive parathyroid surgery techniques contribute to a higher patient quality of life as compared to traditional techniques.