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The COVID-19 pandemic commands a major reorganization of the entire French healthcare system. In France, general rules have been issued nationally and implemented by each healthcare center, both public and private, throughout France. Guidelines drafted by an expert group led by the French-speaking Association of Endocrine Surgery (AFCE) propose specific surgical management principles for thyroid, parathyroid, endocrine pancreas and adrenal surgery during and after the COVID-19 epidemic., (© 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

57 patients with cancer of the hypopharynx underwent 59 pharyngo-esophageal reconstructions with a free jejunal graft after total removal of a tumor combined with resection of the circumferential tissues. 18 patients had been previously irradiated. Median resumption of oral intake was 16 days; 40 out of 50 patients (98%) followed for more than 2 years regained normal eating habits. The cumulative 5-year survival rate was 44%. The free jejunal graft should be advocated as a safe and reliable procedure for hypopharyngeal cancer.

The rate of occurrence of intrathyroidal parathyroid glands in patients treated surgically for hyperparathyroidism (HPT) varies across studies. Among 1200 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for HPT at the Lille Hospital, France, between December 1965 and July 1992, 43 (3.6%) had 47 histologically-proven intrathyroidal parathyroid glands, including 44 lower and three upper parathyroid glands. Fifteen patients had a thyroid gland abnormality. Of the 14 patients who had a preoperative ultrasound study, eight exhibited an abnormal image. Thirty-four of the 47 intrathyroidal parathyroid glands were visible at the surface of the thyroid gland, five were felt on palpation, and eight were discovered upon examination of a lobectomy specimen. A normal or abnormal parathyroid gland can be completely concealed within the thyroid gland, even in the absence of concomitant thyroid gland disease. In most cases, the ectopia affects one or both lower parathyroid glands, although in some instances the two glands on the same side are intrathyroidal. There is no fail-proof means for detecting intrathyroidal parathyroid glands preoperatively. An apparently missing fourth parathyroid gland or a fifth gland should be looked for in the thyroid gland when the cause of HPT is not found during a first cervicotomy procedure. Pre- or intra-operative ultrasonography may be the most informative imaging method for detecting intrathyroidal parathyroid glands and should be performed routinely when a repeat procedure for persistent HPT is being considered.

Background: Most of the available data on multiglandular disease (MGD) originate from long-term series. The spectrum of the disease has changed now because of earlier diagnosis. We decided to assess the current frequency of MGD in seemingly sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism., Methods: MGD was defined as the finding that more than one grossly enlarged gland weighed more than 50 mg and the rim of normal parathyroid tissue was diagnostic of adenoma. Nine hundred eight consecutive neck explorations for hyperparathyroidism were performed, 624 before 1989 and 284 between 1989 and 1991, and studied retrospectively. Since 1989, oil Red O staining has been done to assess hyperfunction., Results: When multiple endocrine neoplasia and non-multiple endocrine neoplasia familial cases of hyperparathyroidism are excluded, the frequency of MGD in seemingly sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism, 17.7% before 1989, is still 14% since then, including a 3% frequency of true multiple adenomas. With more restrictive criteria, which exclude the second enlarged gland if it weighed less than 100 mg, if it had no rim, and if oil Red O staining was negative, the frequency of MGD in sporadic hyperparathyroidism has remained 11% since 1989. Unilateral exploration had missed 78% of second enlarged glands, and preoperative imaging studies, when performed, showed more than one gland in only two of 22 cases., Conclusions: Routine bilateral neck exploration is recommended in primary hyperparathyroidism because of a current frequency of MGD of at least 11%.

Surgical regimens for treatment of solitary parathyroid adenoma were compared in a multicentre study in five departments of surgery in the United States and Europe. Three hundred and twenty-five patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Eight years after the operation 272 patients (84%) were available for follow-up investigation. Severe postoperative hypocalcaemia (less than 2.00 mmol) was significantly more common after bilateral than unilateral exploration (p less than 0.001), and in women (p less than 0.01). Neither age nor preoperative serum calcium concentration was related to the severity of postoperative hypocalcaemia. At follow-up, 96% of the patients who had had unilateral, and 89% of those who had had Bilateral exploration had remained normocalcaemic without further treatment. Of the patients who had had incisional biopsies of normal glands 8% had hypercalcaemia and 8% had hypocalcaemia. Of patients operated on without a biopsy being taken or who had had one whole normal gland removed 1% were hypercalcaemic and 4% were hypocalcaemic. Early and late hypocalcaemia are reduced by atraumatic handling of the normal parathyroid gland without increasing the risk of persistent or recurrent hypercalcaemia.

729 consecutive patients underwent thyroidectomy in 1988 in the same institution, including 477 (68%) bilateral resections and 242 (33%) total thyroidectomies. An effort was made to see and save all 4 parathyroids and their blood supply. Early post-operative hypoparathyroidism was defined at day 5, by serum calcium less than 8 mg/dl. and serum phosphate less than 4 mg/dl or by serum calcium only if greater than 7.5 mg/dl. Patients afflicted with early hypoparathyroidism were given calcium tablets without any vit D for 1 year at most. Follow-up, checking serum Ca, P and i PIH was done on a 3 months basis during 1 year. Permanent hypoparathyroidism was defined by persistence of the above-mentioned criteria after 1 year, and eventually vit D was started. 27 patients (5.6% our of 477 bilateral thyroid resections) experienced early post-op hypoparathyroidism. Inciting factors were previous thyroid surgery (4), radioiodine treatment (2), modified neck dissection (2), sternal split with mediastinal node clearance (1), visualization of 1 parathyroid gland only (3 redo cases) and autotransplantation of more than 1 parathyroid (1 case). 1 patient was lost for follow-up. 25 others recovered a normal parathyroid function. 1 is permanently hypoparathyroid (1 redo case with other risk factors). Painstaking parathyroid dissection allows a 0% rate of permanent hypoparathyroidism after primary surgery, if vit D is not given in the early post-operative period. We suggest that avoidance of early vit D prescription in cases of early post-operative hypoparathyroidism, leading to mild sustained hypocalcemia, stimulates the spared parathyroid glands (including a possible 5th) and therefore allows full recovery of the parathyroid function.

Multiple gland enlargement (M.G.E.) in primary hyperparathyroidism (H.P.T.) is the presence of 2 or more enlarged glands weighing more than 50 mg. Conservative surgery (C.S.) consists of resecting the grossly enlarged glands without biopsying the normal glands. Some authors have suggested that C.S. might overlook minute hyperplasia, hence leading to late recurrences of H.P.T., or conversely result in the unnecessary resection of grossly enlarged, but not hyperfunctioning glands. 379 patients have been operated upon for H.P.T. 86 (22.7%) had M.G.E. including 13 (15.2%) M.E.N. cases, 8 (9.3%) familial cases and 65 (75.6%) seemingly sporadic cases (S.S.C.). 2, 3 or 4 glands (or more) were involved in 39.5%, 35% and 25.5% of cases respectively. 1 patient died post-operatively and 3--all S.S.C. with hyperplasia--had to be reoperated upon within 1 year for persistent hypercalcemia. Pathological diagnosis was: double adenomas in 5.8%, hyperplasia in 36%, adenoma associated with hyperplasia in 46.5% and a normal second gland, on light microscopy findings in 11.7%. None of 13 deaths occurring during follow-up was related to H.P.T. 78 patients (90.7%) are available for follow-up (av. 85.3 months). 85.9% are normocalcemic (2.2 less than Ca less than 2.6 mmol/l), 5.1% hypocalcemic and 9% hypercalcemic. 61 had late i. P.T.H. assay; i. P.T.H. was appropriate to serum calcium in 78.7% and appropriate to normal serum calcium levels in 90.6% of 53 normocalcemic cases.

622 patients were operated on between 1966 and 1988. Urolithiasis was the most common presenting symptom (26%) but routine measurements of serum calcium led to detect 50% cases. At present, the disease is three times more frequent in women than in men. Estrogenic deprivation, neck irradiation (3.4%) and lithium therapy favor the occurrence of hyperparathyroidism (HPT); frequent association with goiter (19.8%), diabetes (8.3%) and multiple endocrine neoplasia (3.5%) has been noticed. Bone Gla protein concentrations correlate with calcium and HPT blood concentrations but do not reflect the severity of bone damage. Dual photon absorptiometry is now available for quantification and follow-up of bone demineralization, especially in asymptomatic forms of HPT.