Auto-transplantation protects against permanent hypoparathyroidism, whereas low PTH day 1 is associated with high risk.

The use of the HS was associated with a significant reduction in operating time compared to the use of the conventional haemostatic techniques in patients with Graves' disease undergoing total thyroidectomy.

Risk factors for medically treated hypocalcemia varied at different times of follow-up. Young age, operative time, type of hospital, and parathyroid autotransplantation were associated with early postoperatively hypocalcemia. Preoperative β-blocker treatment was a risk factor at the first follow-up. At early and late follow-up, gland weight and reoperation for bleeding were associated with medically treated hypocalcemia.

Apart from more frequent symptoms of hypocalcaemia in patients with Graves' disease, there was no difference in the overall frequency of biochemical hypocalcaemia, low levels of PTH and/or treatment with calcium and vitamin D.

We evaluated robotically assisted laparoscopic adrenalectomy (RLA) in a prospective study of 100 consecutive patients (60 women and 40 men) undergoing unilateral adrenalectomy at the University Hospital. The median age was 59 (24-82) years and BMI 27.6 (17.1-40.9) kg/m(2). Preoperative diagnoses were Conn's syndrome 30%, pheochromocytoma 23%, Cushing syndrome 27% and non-functional tumor 20%. The median tumor size was 53 (10-106) mm. The majority of the 7% of the patients who were converted to open surgery were in the early phase after the introduction of the technique. The BMI of the patients who were converted to open surgery was significantly higher, 31.5 (range 25.3-37.8) compared to, 27.5 (range 17.1-40.9) in patients without conversion (P = 0.047). The median weight of the tumor was 51 g for patients with conversion (range 18-97 g) and 30 g (range 8-128 g) for patients without conversion (P = 0.066). The median console operation time for the whole series was 88 min (range 39-397 min). The console operation time decreased significantly with the numbers of patients operated (r = 0.372; P = 0.0003). There was an association between the weight of the specimen and operation time (r = 0.42; P = 0.0001). RLA is a safe and a feasible surgical alternative for treating all kind of adrenal disorders, particularly large tumors and more complex circumstances. The present study clearly shows that a learning curve is present for the console surgeon and assistants.

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Marking of non-palpable breast lesions for biopsy has become a routine procedure in patients in whom mammography has suggested malignancy. Between October 1981 and December 1985 a localization method was used in 123 patients. In 35 per cent of the biopsies a malignant lesion was disclosed. In patients with a mass only, malignancy was found in 37 per cent of the biopsies. If microcalcifications alone were the main reason for the biopsy, malignancy was disclosed in 25 per cent. If both a mass and microcalcifications were present, 52 per cent of the biopsies disclosed a malignant lesion.