Comparison of minimally invasive parathyroidectomy under local anaesthesia and minimally invasive video-assisted parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism: a cost analysis

Background. Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) origins from a solitary adenoma in 70-95% of cases. Moreover, the advances in methods for localizing an abnormal parathyroid gland made minimally invasive techniques more prominent. This study presents a micro-cost analysis of two parathyroidectomy techniques. Patients and methods. 72 consecutive patients who underwent minimally invasive parathyroidectomy, video-assisted (MIVAP, group A, 52 patients) or "open" under local anaesthesia (OMIP, group B, 20 patients) for PHPT were reviewed. Operating room, consumable, anaesthesia, maintenance costs, equipment depreciation and surgeons/anaesthesiologists fees were evaluated. The patient's satisfaction and the rate of conversion to conventional parathyroidectomy were investigated. T-Student's, Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests and Odds Ratio were used for statistical analysis. Results. 1 patient of the group A and 2 of the group B were excluded from the cost analysis because of the conversion to the conventional technique. Concerning the remnant patients, the overall average costs were: for Operative Room, 1186,69 (sic) for the MIVAP group (51 patients) and 836,11 (sic) for the OMIP group (p< 0,001); for the Team, 122,93 (sic) (group A) and 90,02 (sic) (group B) (p< 0,001); the other operative costs were 1388,32 (sic) (group A) and 928,23 (sic) (group B) (p< 0,001). The patient's satisfaction was very strongly in favour of the group B (Odds Ratio 20,5 with a 95% confidence interval). Conclusions. MIVAP is more expensive compared to the "open" parathyroidectomy under local anaesthesia due to the costs of general anaesthesia and the longer operative time. Moreover, the patients generally prefer the local anaesthesia. Nevertheless, the rate of conversion to the conventional parathyroidectomy was relevant in the group of the local anaesthesia compared to the MIVAP, since the latter allows a four-gland exploration.