This video is all about managing a parathyroid gland that looks doubtfully viable. Initial cold saline test and therapy takes away the darkened appearance of charring from the capsule of these glands and the color may improve. All dark looking parathyroids are not dead and a knife test or saline test must be employed to assess their viability.
If the color does not change and the gland is indeed thought to be non-viable, it may be sliced very thin using number 15 blade and autotransplanted in a pocket created in the ipsilateral sterno-cleidomastoid muscle. This video demonstrates both these procedures during total thyroidectomy and central neck dissection for thyroid cancer .
