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Parathyroid hyperplasia - Treatment

Treatment:

Surgery is the preferred treatment. Usually 3 1/2 glands are removed. The remaining tissue may be implanted in the forearm so a doctor can easily operate on it if symptoms come back. This tissue will also help the body control calcium levels.

Expectations (prognosis):

Increased calcium levels persist or return about 20% of the time after surgery.

Complications:

Parathyroid hyperplasia causes about 15% of cases of hyperparathyroidism, which leads to an increase in blood calcium levels.

Complications include increased calcium in the kidneys and osteitis fibrosa cystica.

Patients may also have complications from the other endocrine tumors that are part of the multiple endocrine neoplasia syndromes. See: MEN I and MEN IIA

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if you have any symptoms of hypercalcemia, or there is a family history of any of the MEN syndromes.

Endocrine glands

Parathyroid glands

Reviewed last on: 8/31/2010
Ari S. Eckman, MD, Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Wysolmerski JJ, Insogna KL. The parathyroid glands, hypercalcemia, and hypocalcemia. In: Kronenberg HM, Schlomo M, Polansky KS, Larsen PR, eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 11th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2008:chap. 266.

Bringhurst FR, Demay MB, Kronenberg HM. Disorders of mineral metabolism. In: Kronenberg HM, Schlomo M, Polansky KS, Larsen PR, eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 11th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2008:chap. 27.

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