Parathyroidectomy is surgery to remove parathyroid glands or parathyroid tumors. The parathyroid glands are right behind your thyroid gland in your neck. These glands help your body make calcium.

Removal of parathyroid gland; Parathyroidectomy

You will receive general anesthesia (asleep and pain-free) for this surgery. The surgery may last from 1 - 3 hours.

Usually the parathyroid glands are removed using a 2- to 4-inch surgical cut on your neck.

• The cut is usually made just under your Adam's apple.
• Your surgeon will look for the four parathyroid glands and remove any that are diseased.
• You may have a special blood test during surgery that will tell if all the diseased glands were removed.
• Rarely, when all four of these glands need to be removed, part of one is transplanted into the forearm.

Your surgeon may use one of these three other surgery techniques. Your surgeon must know where any diseased parathyroid glands are before using any of these techniques.

• Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy: You may receive a shot of nuclear material before this surgery. If you have this shot, your surgeon will use a special probe, similar to a Geiger counter, to locate the parathyroid gland. Your surgeon will make a small cut (1 to 2 inches) on one side of your neck, and then remove the diseased gland through it. This procedure takes about 1 hour.
• Video-assisted parathyroidectomy: Your surgeon will make two small cuts in your neck. One is for instruments, and the other is for a camera. Your surgeon will use the camera to see the area and will remove the diseased glands with the instruments.
• Endoscopic parathyroidectomy: Your surgeon will make two or three small cuts in the front of your neck and one cut above the top of your breastbone. This reduces visible scarring, pain, and recovery time. This cut is less than 2 inches long. The procedure to remove any diseased parathyroid glands is similar to video-assisted parathyroidectomy.

Your doctor may recommend parathyroidectomy if one or more of your parathyroid glands is producing too much parathyroid hormone. This condition is called hyperparathyroidism. It is often caused by a small non-cancerous (benign) tumor called an adenoma.

Your doctor will consider many factors when deciding whether to do surgery and what type of surgery would be best for you. Some of these factors are your age, calcium levels in your urine and blood, and whether you have symptoms.

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Parathyroidectomy

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Review Date: 11/05/2010
Reviewed By: Shabir Bhimji MD, PhD, Specializing in General Surgery, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Midland, TX. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)