Background Opioid abuse is widespread in the United States and the risk for chronic use is increased in surgical patients, including patients with thyroid and parathyroid. Methods Records for 171 patients prior to and 67 patients following implementation of an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocol for ambulatory thyroid/parathyroid surgeries were reviewed. The ERAS included superficial cervical plexus block, multimodal premedication, and postoperative reliance on acetaminophen and ibuprofen with judicious prescribing of opioids. Results Post‐ERAS patients were prescribed a mean 72 morphine milligram equivalents (MME); pre‐ERAS patients were prescribed a mean 163 MME (p < 0.001). 97.1% of pre‐ERAS patients were prescribed opioids with 91.1% filled; 68.7% of post‐ERAS study patients were prescribed opioids with 84.8% filled. Conclusion Implementation of ERAS and focus on prescribing practices decreased the MME prescribed and used for ambulatory thyroid and parathyroid surgery. Future steps include increased patient education and tracking pain scores and medication utilization out of hospital.

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Background Intraoperative scintigraphy (IoS) has been proposed as a tool for real‐time intraoperative decision‐making regarding parathyroid adenoma localization and confirmation of excision. Methods Retrospective review of patients who underwent minimally invasive parathyroidectomies with scintigraphy performed intraoperatively. Preoperative neck ultrasound, 4D computed tomography, as well as intraoperative parathyroid hormone (IOPTH) and gamma probe measurements were conducted per standard practice. IoS images were obtained prior to and following parathyroid excision. Cases were reviewed to determine accuracy of IoS for localizing parathyroid pathology and confirming successful excision. Results Fifty‐six cases met the inclusion criteria. Twenty‐nine patients (51.8%) showed confirmation of excision of an abnormal gland on post‐excision IoS. There were no significant differences in IOPTH reduction and postoperative laboratory values between patients with IoS‐identified resolution and those without IoS‐identified resolution. Conclusions With low accuracy in correctly localizing abnormal glands and confirming their excision, there is no appreciable benefit of IoS at this time.

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