Parathyroid disease and parathyroid problems. Parathyroid surgery by expert parathyroid surgeon.

 

Dr James Norman and Dr Douglas Politz
of the
Norman Parathyroid Surgery Clinic
Home Parathyroid Intro Normal Function Hyperparathyroidism Symptoms Diagnosis Osteoporosis Treatment/Surgery Mini-Surgery MIRP Mini Surgery Parathyroid Pictures Finding the Tumor Who Gets It? Do I Have Just One? What Causes It? Sestamibi Scan Surgery Cure Rates What Experts Say Frequent Questions High Blood Calcium Low Vitamin D Diagnosis-ADVANCED 10 Parathyroid Rules Sensipar Publications Parathyroid Cancer Re-Operate Hyp0parathyroid What Patients Say Table of Contents Dr. Norman About Us

 

Tampa General Hospital is a TOP 100 HOSPITAL in the US

Tampa General Hospital has been on the "Best Hospital" list every year between 1998 through 2007.

Best Hospital for Head and Neck Surgery/Parathyroid Surgery.

Named one of the top 25 hospitals in the US for head and neck surgery by US News and World Reports. Yep, that's us!

 

 

 

Dr Norman has been selected as one of America's Top Surgeons

 

 

 

Dr. Norman is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Dr Norman and Dr Politz are Fellows of the American College of Surgeons.

 

 

 

Dr. Norman is a Fellow of the American College of Endocrinology.

Both Dr Norman and Dr Politz are members of the American Association for Clinical Endocrinologists.

 

 

 

 

James Norman, MD of the Norman Parathyroid Surgery Clinic.James Norman, MD, FACS, FACE, is recognized as one of world's foremost experts on parathyroid disease and one of the best and most experienced parathyroid surgeons in the world. Dr Norman treats more patients with parathyroid disease than any other doctor on the planet. He is a board certified surgeon and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS). He is also a Fellow of the American College of Endocrinology (FACE). He is recognized as the inventor of minimally invasive radioguided parathyroid surgery in the mid 1990s, and is credited with dramatically changing the way parathyroid surgery is performed.

Douglas Politz, MD, FACS. is an accomplished surgeon who works side-by-side with Dr Norman. Dr Politz trained in mini-parathyroid surgery under Dr Norman in the late 1990's and practiced in Texas from 2000 until recently when he re-joined the Norman Parathyroid Clinic. Dr Politz has performed more parathyroid operations than anybody in the world other than Dr Norman and operates with Dr Norman on every operation.

The Norman Parathyroid Surgery Clinic is dedicated to parathyroid disease only. Dr Norman and Politz are the only surgeons in the world that limit their practice to this one uncommon disease. Parathyroid surgery is all we do!  We don't do breast biopsies, gallbladders, and obesity surgery--just parathyroids. Because of our expertise, people from all over the US and many other countries travel to Tampa to be cured of their parathyroid disease.  This experience gives Dr Norman and his team unparalleled results. Currently 99.62% of all patients are cured at their very first operation--almost all via an operation that takes between 14 and 21 minutes, going home in about 1.5 hours.  (Click Here to read more about Dr Norman and Dr Politz).

You Can Have Drs Norman and Politz Perform Your Parathyroid Surgery

Because of the demand for mini-parathyroid surgery, their expertise, and exceptional results, Drs Norman and Politz operate on 11 to 12 parathyroid patients EVERY DAY (average 12 per day, 3 days per week). Thus we perform an average of 36 parathyroid operations per week, which includes an average of 24 parathyroid patients from outside the state of Florida each week. Because of this, we have developed a system which allows patients to be evaluated for mini - parathyroid surgery prior to taking the trip to Tampa. REMEMBER, ALL 100% of our patients get mini-surgery... Its all we do!  YES... if your scan is negative you still get a mini surgery! Our goal is to provide the safest and most successful parathyroid operation available anywhere in the world. We will help arrange all aspects of the trip except the travel. Typically a patient can fly to Tampa, have an operation, and return home in the same time that he/she would be in the hospital if a standard operation was performed. 100% of all parathyroid patients go home within 2.5 hours of the operation (for our past 7,500 parathyroid operations that didn't require major thyroid surgery also). We have now sent home over 7,800 patients within 2.5 hours of their operation.  Click Here to read what patients say about having surgery at the Norman Parathyroid Clinic. Endocrinologists and family doctors all over the US (and throughout the world) are always very happy to see the patient postoperatively since there is little that can go wrong and the results are very predictable (all you have to do is get your blood tested in a few weeks--and we provide the pre-printed lab slip)--thus the trip to Tampa can be for only one or two days. Dr Norman and/or Dr Politz will communicate directly with your doctors to assure you get the best treatment available. Your doctors will be sent copies of your operation--and will have all your pertinent records before you see them a week or two later. Your doctors will also get a personal letter from Dr Norman describing what was done and they will get a photo of the removed tumor. The best part of course, is that minimal parathyroid surgery performed by these two surgeons has an extremely high cure rate (see medical publications page for details), the risk of complications is extremely low (far less than one tenth of one percent risk), the incision is very small (almost always one inch or less), and postoperative pain is very little (or non-existent).  Our publications show that 99.83 percent of patients who come from other states for mini-parathyroid surgery by Dr Norman are cured of their disease with an operation that on average takes less than 19 minutes. THIS IS NOT A BIG OPERATION!  IT IS A SAFE AND QUICK OUT-PATIENT PROCEDURE. AND YES, EVERYBODY GETS A MINI OPERATION EVEN IF THEIR SCAN IS NEGATIVE! We do NOT decide on who gets a mini operation based upon the scan results. Please read that again.

Norman Parathyroid Surgery Clinic
STATISTICS FOR OUR PAST 7800 PARATHYROID OPERATIONS*
(UPDATED 05/06/2008 -- includes all of 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008)
Cure rate - 99.75 % (this is 99.88% for the past 6500 patients)
Average Operative Time - 17.9 minutes (total time from first cut to band-aid)
Average number of parathyroid operations performed EVERY DAY - 11 or 12.
Number of parathyroid operations performed annually - about 1800 (WAY more than anyone in the world)
Number of parathyroid patients consulted on annually - about 3500 (WAY more than anyone in the world)
Percent getting a "mini" parathyroid operation - 100%  (Its all we do -- everybody has a mini-operation)
Percent getting a "mini" parathyroid operation if they have a negative scan - 100%  IMPORTANT
Percent getting a "mini" parathyroid operation if they have 4-bad glands - 100%
Percent of our patients who had NEGATIVE scan prior to coming here: 78%
Percent that have their thyroid gland assessed during the mini-parathyroid operation - 100% *
Hyp0parathyroidism Complications (removing all the parathyroids-a terrible complication) - 0 (none, ever).
Wound Problems (infection) - 0 (none, ever).
Number of times that a voice box nerve was permanently injured - 0 (none, ever)
Percent spending night in hospital - 0.05% (this is down to 0% in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007) -only two in the past 5000+ *
Percent going home within 3 hours of the operation - 100% (in past 5700 operations) *
Average wound length (average for ALL patients obese and skinny combined) - 0.9 inch
Average wound length if all 4 glands have to be removed/biopsied - 0.9 inch--its the same!
Average wound length if a thyroid nodule has to be removed also - 1.0 inch--no difference.
Average wound length for patients under 150 pounds - 1/2 to 3/4 inch.
Average amount of blood loss during the operation - less than 3 cc's (essentially none).
How often we re-operate because another surgeon was unsuccessful - almost EVERY DAY (usually 2 per day).
How often we operate on a doctor - almost every day (usually 3-4 per week).
How often we operate on a nurse -  at least 5 times per week (usually several per day).
How often we use doctors in training (anesthesiology residents) to help with your anesthesia - never.
How often we have doctors in training (surgery residents) do part or all of your operation - never.
How often we operate on people over 80 years of age - Average more than one every day.
Number of times Dr Norman has been sued - Never.
Number of times Dr Politz has been sued - Never.
How often we publish in major medical journals -  about every other month.
How often our patients send flowers and candy - almost every day! (mostly to Kelly, Michelle, Jayme, Lisa and Barbara and Faith!).
Number of States our patients come from every year - 50 (typically 8-9 from other states every day!).
How often we operate on patients from other countries - several times per week.
How often we operate on patients from Canada - average just over 2 per week (national health system? - UGH!, note; this makes us the number one parathyroid surgeons in Canada, as nobody in Canada does this many)

*  Note: Occasionally parathyroid patients will need a part of their thyroid removed during their thyroid operation (about 22% have a thyroid problem that we deal with during their parathyroid operation). Almost all patients that require the removal of a thyroid nodule or even an entire thyroid lobe will go home within 2.5 hours. Patients with thyroid problems in addition to parathyroid problems are not treated differently from parathyroid patients who do not have thyroid problems... same anesthesia, same incision, etc. We remove thyroid nodules all day long in patients that have thyroid nodules in addition to their parathyroid tumor, it usually adds about 2-5 minutes to the operation. Occasionally we will have a patient spend the night if we have to remove a very large thyroid goiter during the parathyroid operation (about 1 in 500 patients). Patients over 250 pounds will sometimes need an incision about 1.5 inches long. The bottom line is safety... not speed... and not statistics. All patients are treated as individuals and get personalized care that is tailored to their specific problem and their overall health. Nobody has seen more of this stuff than us. Nobody has seen more thyroid nodules than us.

We take almost all Insurance Types... however, patients living outside of the Tampa Bay area are required to pay a "Consultation Fee"

There is a $725.00 Consultation Fee that is charged to all Florida patients who don't live in the Tampa Bay area. This fee covers the cost of organizing your medical information from all of the various sources and entering your information into our huge computer database of thousands of parathyroid patients so your disease can be reviewed by Dr Norman and/or Dr Politz--who will then determine what your best course of action should be. One of the experts will call you on the phone and consult with you about your parathyroid disease, putting it in context with the many thousands of other patients that they have seen and our computer has analyzed. IMPORTANT! Your insurance will not pay this consultation fee and it will be your responsibility. This fee covers the organization of your chart and the phone consultation with Dr Norman and or Dr Politz. This fee is for your consultation before you get to Tampa to determine if you have parathyroid disease, how severe it is, and what your best means of treatment would be. This fee is not dependant upon you having surgery with us. Important--this saves you the costs of an office visit, a day of travel to and from Tampa, and a night in a hotel.. and gets you the opinion of the most experienced parathyroid doctors in the world. However, this fee is NOT billable to your insurance company, so don't ask them to pay it--they will not--it is not their responsibility. If you cannot afford this fee we are sorry, but don't ask for a consultation. Your insurance will not pay it.

Out of State Patients must pay a $1250 Consultation Fee. If you don't live in Florida, this is you. We will obtain approvals from your insurance company and take care of the billings to your insurance company for the cost of the operation, however, insurance companies will not pay this chart prep, data entry, chart review, and phone consultation fee. Therefore, the fee for the consultation is 100% the responsibility of the patient. This fee includes assimilating your records from your various doctors into a parathyroid-specific chart that Dr Norman and/or Dr Politz will review. It also includes entering all of your data into our secure database that will compare your disease with many thousands of others with this same uncommon problem so we can predict prior to your operation what your best treatment is, how many parathyroid glands are bad, and what symptoms will improve. One of our two doctors will then call you on the phone for a phone consultation. This process typically saves you at least one or two days of travel time, one office visit, and one night in a hotel. And we won't spend your money on dumb, unnecessary x-rays! This process works extremely well. The use of the computer database is one reason why we have the highest cure rate and the lowest complication rate in the world. There are no exceptions to this $1250 Consultation Fee if you don't live in Florida, and this fee is the patient's responsibility--the insurance company will not pay this fee. The primary purpose of this fee is so you can have your medical records reviewed by Dr Norman and/or Dr Politz and receive a phone consultation to discuss your parathyroid disease and to develop a treatment plan. This fee is NOT billable to your insurance company, so don't ask them to pay it--they will not--it is not their responsibility.  If you cannot afford this fee, don't ask for a consultation. Your insurance will not pay it. If you do not have surgery with us, but go through the consultation process, then this fee is due. This is not a surgery fee, this is a consultation fee to see if you need surgery for hyperparathyroidism.

Re-Operations: If you have had a parathyroid operation somewhere else and you were not cured, thus requiring a second (or third, fourth, or fifth!) operation, the Consultation Fee is $2000. Your insurance will not cover this fee, and it will be applied to all patients regardless of what state they live in... so, if you don't come here for your first operation... you better pick a good surgeon! This fee applies whether you have a phone consultation or you live nearby and consult with us in the office. The preparation of these patients is significantly more difficult and takes considerably more time for Dr Norman to review and study. Of course, the extra time we put into your problem almost always means we can find and remove the tumor that other surgeons could not. Our success rate for re-operations when other surgeons were unsuccessful is over 99%... and 99% of the past 500 have gone home an hour or two later. About 18% of our business is re-do parathyroid surgery... pick your surgeon wisely!

Patients Seen in the Office: If you live in Tampa and are seen in our clinic office (very few patients fall into this category) then you will be required to pay a $150.00 chart prep and data entry fee in addition to your co-pay.

Waiting Lists  -  When Can You Have Surgery by Drs Norman and Politz?

We see far more parathyroid patients than any other hospital, clinic or doctor in the world (averaging more than 85 parathyroid patients per week of which about half are new parathyroid patients). Thus, we typically have a surgery waiting list of about 3-4 weeks from the time Dr Norman/Politz reviews your chart. It takes about 1-2 weeks for your chart to be completed and for Dr Norman and/or Dr Politz to review it. Thus, the entire process from the time of submission of the online form to an operation is usually about 4 to 5 weeks. The good news: We are good at this because we do FAR more parathyroid operations than anybody else in the world... and we'll get lots more experience before its your turn. The bad news: there are other parathyroid patients in front of you and you will need to wait until its your turn. Remember, we'll do more parathyroid operations during the month you have to wait for your surgery than almost any other surgeon will do in several lifetimes! Also remember, this is NOT cancer, and you've already had this disease for years... Yep, almost ALL patients have been growing a tumor in their neck for AT LEAST 4-5 years before somebody figures it out! There are some exceptions to getting in sooner... we save a few spots on our schedule for patients with calcium levels above 12 since this is a dangerous situation. 

IMPORTANT: Throughout this site we talk about Dr Norman and Dr Politz in the same sentence. This is because BOTH surgeons will see ALL patients, and BOTH surgeons will perform all operations. Thus every patient gets the benefit of having two extremely experienced surgeons. We'd venture to say, there is nothing in parathyroid disease that we have not seen. Some patients will have Dr Politz call them on the phone for their consultation, while others will have Dr Norman call them. HOWEVER, both doctors will spend time with you at the hospital, and both will perform your operation. Yes, every patient gets Dr Norman as their surgeon.

Patients from Other Countries / and Patients Without Insurance: We operate on several patients from Canada every week, as well as patients from other countries almost weekly. The total cost if you do not have insurance and must pay for the operation out of pocket is approximately $10,750. This covers all consultations, chart prep, surgeon, anesthesia, x-ray, hospital, laboratory, operating room, and recovery room. Everything except travel and hotel.

Parathyroid surgery, parathyroid surgery; parathyroid surgeon

Note: Dr Norman performed a MIRP mini parathyroid operation LIVE on the Internet for you to watch.
It was then shown on the TODAY show with Katie Couric as well as many local TV programs.
Click Here to watch this operation as it happened live June 14th 2005

We really like our patients to watch this movie... it will answer a lot of questions. It is a bloodless operation! Simple, clean, no blood, very small incision, lots of information.

Speed...
Why do we keep bringing up the quickness of our operations? First of all... quick is dumb if it's not successful. The most important issue is safety, so always look at a surgeon's complication rates and success rates. If success rates are very high and complication rates are very low, then speed is the next most important factor. Speed is a function of repetition and competence. Quick operations have less dissection which means less pain and less bleeding. Less dissection decreases the potential for complications and damage to other neck structures like nerves. Quick operations require less anesthesia. People get much less sick and are able to get on with their lives very quickly after a 15-20 minute operation. Quick operations are tolerated by people very well. The best surgeons are often the quickest... but not always! When choosing your surgeon--regardless of who it is--you must always fall back on what is most important... success rates and complication rates. You will usually see that the best surgeons have all three: Very High Success Rates, Extremely Few Complications, and Speed.

Setting Up an Out of Town or Out of State Visit at the
Norman Parathyroid Clinic.Florida Map

Drs. Norman and Politz perform all operations with their two dedicated teams at Tampa General Hospital, one of the "Top 100 Hospitals" in the U.S.... and because of us, a top 50 hospital in the US for Head and Neck Surgery.

We encourage you to communicate with us at the Norman Parathyroid Surgery Clinic regarding the possibility of coming to Tampa for parathyroid surgery, or having one of our two world-renowned experts consult with you about your parathyroid disease. 

THIS PAGE UPDATED May 06, 2008. 

THIS IS HOW YOU BECOME A PATIENT OF THE NORMAN PARATHYROID CLINIC:

NOTE: WE PREFER EMAIL COMMUNICATION WHENEVER POSSIBLE.

  1. BEST Fill out the two online forms.Norman Parathyroid Clinic's Updated Patient Form. These forms are SECURE and are encrypted for your safety (nobody can see your information). Our Patient History Form will ask you the most important questions about your parathyroid disease. Just fill it out and hit the 'submit' button. Then, fill out the Insurance Form and hit the submit button. Jayme will contact you within a day or two after we receive these forms and tell you what else is needed. You must fill out these forms to become one of our patients. Note: We really love our patients who communicate via email. Read further below to see just what will be needed... and who will be contacting you during this process... REMEMBER... filing out forms and getting to the point of a chart review by one or both of our doctors and having a phone consultation will cost you the consultation fee outlined above. Read more about your financial responsibilities on our ABN form... you will be required to check the box that says you read this when you fill out the online forms.
    Parathyroid surgery at the Norman Parathyroid surgery clinic.
    Remember, we can't do too much without having your history form filled out and have received your labs from your doctors. We can't comment on your disease until we know what your labs are.  IMPORTANT: Please do NOT email Kelly with generic parathyroid questions. The most common question we get is.. "Will I be able to have mini-parathyroid surgery even if my scan is negative?"  The answer is YES, Drs Norman and Politz do mini-surgery on ALL parathyroid patients. We do not do the old-fashioned 8-10 inch, 4-hour operation!!  Our average operating time for ALL parathyroid patients is about 17.9 minutes. YES, this includes people who require the removal of a thyroid nodule also. If you have a generic question about coming to Tampa email your question to Dr. Norman, DO NOT send it to Kelly, Doug, Jayme, Faith, Barbara, Lisa, Eric, Michelle, or Ali. Please note, if you are not interested in coming to Tampa, we may or may not be able to help you. We cannot give out advice to everybody who emails us--even if we could legally do so! 

    Parathyroid.com uses secure encoding of all information.Parathyroid.com uses state of the art secure forms to keep all information 100% private.
    .

  2. Call us on the phone.  Do this only if absolutely necessary, or you are a doctor's office. Our office hours for new patients are 9:00 am to 4:00 pm EST Monday through Friday.  During all other hours you can leave a message and we will return your call. Did we mention that we prefer email communication and if you call we won't be able to help too much until we see your history form and your labs??? Please do not call us with a generic question about parathyroid disease or to see if you can be a patient of ours.  If you have parathyroid disease, you can be a patient of ours! Fill out the forms... FILL OUT THE FORMS! All patients are required to fill out the forms, it cannot be avoided.

 

Office Phone Number:  813.972.0000
Office Fax Number:  813.972.0077

 

Every patient who has to travel to Tampa for parathyroid surgery will get a phone call from either Dr Norman or Dr Politz, and this call will come after they can review all of your medical information and before you have to make any travel arrangements. Thus, once Jayme has put together a complete chart for you it will be given to one of these two doctors who will review it and then call you on the phone to discuss. A complete chart includes:
A completed History Form. This is a SECURE form.
A completed Insurance Form. This is a SECURE form.
All labs received (via fax or mail) from your doctors. (fax = 813-972-0077)
For those with x-rays, we want to see them also (send x-rays separate from medical records). 

Address for sending X-Rays and other items via Federal Express / UPS / US Mail:

Norman Parathyroid Clinic
3238 Cove Bend Dr.
Tampa, FL  33613

Don't forget to call your doctor's office and have them fax your records to us, specifically your calcium levels, PTH levels, bone scans, office notes, etc.  Then, call the place where you had your x-rays (sestamibi scan) done and tell them to send us a copy of the films (we want the pieces of plastic, not just the typed report). Do NOT put your lab reports and doctor's notes in with your x-rays. Mail the x-rays separate--Please!

Read what our patients say about their parathyroid surgery experience: Click HereParathyroid patients talk about parathyroid surgery.
Local Hotels with Discount Rates and Free Transportation: Click Here
Driving Directions to the Clinic... BUT... most people never go to the clinic, they go to the hospital: Click Here

 

NOTE: If you have a question regarding your parathyroid disease that you want to ask Dr Norman directly, before having Jayme put a patient folder together for you, then feel free to do so. However, please make the question clear, and give enough information about your parathyroid problem (calcium and PTH levels) so Dr Norman can provide a clear answer. Dr Norman usually answers email 7 days a week (when he's in town).

jnorman@parathyroid.com
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NOTE: Federal law requires that we make available our privacy consent statement to you. You can read it by Clicking Here.

What We Need to Accomplish Prior to Your
Minimal Parathyroid Surgery

  1. Remember, a Minimally Invasive Radioguided Parathyroid operation (MIRP) can be performed on ALL patients with parathyroid disease! If you have had a Sestamibi scan already, let us know--Dr. Norman wants to see it before your operation. If you have had a sestamibi scan... go get it and have it mailed to Dr Norman for his review. Often radiologists with less experience will miss the tumor on your scans. If you haven't had a scan yet YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE ONE BEFORE COMING HERE FOR SURGERY. If you want Dr. Norman or Politz to discuss your case with your doctor, they will be happy to do this, so have them call if you like. REMEMBER: If your scan is NOT positive YOU WILL STILL BE ABLE TO HAVE MINIMAL PARATHYROID SURGERY !!!  DO NOT GIVE UP ON MINI-PARATHYROID SURGERY BECAUSE OF THE RESULTS OF YOUR SCAN!!! We are the only doctors in the world that do mini parathyroid surgery on 100% of patients, and the only ones that do mini surgery when your scan is negative. If your doctor says you can't have mini-surgery because your scan is not positive, tell them they are WRONG!  Many patients have a scan performed in their home city prior to coming to Florida, but some decide that they want Dr Norman to operate on them regardless of the scan results so they get their first Sestamibi scan in Tampa the morning of the operation. We do NOT require that you have a scan before you come here. Most scans performed at places that don't do hundreds of these scans per year are not very good, and many of them are simply terrible quality and offer no good information.  93% of the scans that are "negative" somewhere else become positive when we do it...our team is that much better... Its all we do!  If you don't have a scan.. DO NOT GET ONE! YOU DON'T NEED IT!
    Use email whenever you can when communicating with Dr. Norman's office.

  2. FAITH and JAYME: Chart Preparation and Communication with Doctor's Offices.  Faith and Jayme work together to organizing your chart--including your History Form, your Insurance Form, and the records we get from your doctor(s).  This chart will also include a patient check list and disease profile for you. Our online forms for your Personal History and Insurance Information are secure forms that are extremely private and cannot be seen by any hackers or prying eyes. We use an outside security company to host these secure forms and the secure "certificate" can be seen on these forms. Fill out these forms with complete trust that your information will remain PRIVATE using the most modern technology available. Read more about your financial responsibilities on our ABN form... you will be required to check the box that says you read this when you fill out the online forms.
    Parathyroid Surgery does not have to be complicated!

  3. As soon as you fill out the History and Insurance forms, Faith will email you to tell you that your forms have arrived and she will remind you of the other information we need (x-rays, lab reports, etc). Once all of your clinical information is put together, Faith or Jayme will email you a second time and tell you that the chart has been completed and was given to Dr Norman or Dr Politz. It will usually take a couple of days to one week for one of our two expert doctors to review your chart (x-rays, etc) and go over your case in detail and then call you on the phone to discuss your parathyroid problem. They will tell you what they think the best options are. Every patient who has to travel to get to Tampa will get a personal phone call from one of our two experts. Make sure you give us your correct phone numbers.
    Parathyroid surgery at the Norman Parathyroid surgery clinic.

  4. MICHELLE:  Verification of Insurance, Co-Pays and Deductibles; Keeper of the Operating Room Schedule.  When Faith and/or Jayme gives your chart to either Dr Politz or Dr Norman she also gives your information to Michelle who will be working on your insurance coverage during the time that one of the two doctors is reviewing your chart.  AFTER your phone call with the doctor you will be instructed to get in touch with Michelle to finalize your trip to Tampa and to work with you to pick a day for your operation. You will contact Michelle via email E-mail Michelle (preferred) or by direct phone call to the office. Michelle will help you choose a day for the operation and help coordinate the entire visit once things have progressed to this point. Do NOT call her to see what our schedule is.... I can tell you right now, our schedule is always booked solid for about 3 weeks. ALWAYS. (note... special cases and severe parathyroid disease will always get moved to the front of the line... but these cases are not very common).

  5. Book Your Hotel.  We work with hotels in the area. The one that treats our patients the best and the one we get the most positive feedback from is the Hilton Garden Inn. Click Here to see our Hotel Page.
    Watch the Mini Parathyroid Movie...

  6. Watch the Movie. The movie of this operation is online and you should watch it. There is no blood. It will help you understand where the incision is, and what your Band-Aid looks like. You will see just how small and quick this operation is.  Dr Norman also gives a lecture for 15 minutes that is very informative. Watch the movie!

 

What we need from you.

In order for us to confirm that you do have parathyroid disease (hyperparathyroidism) and that an operation is in your best interest (very high chance of cure + very low chance of complications = successful surgery), then we need some of your medical records sent to us. This shouldn't be too hard and usually can be done by you over the phone. Most of this CAN NOT legally be done by us.

  1. Send us a copy of all your lab work. Specifically we want to see what your calcium level is currently and what it was in the recent past (and distant past if available). The more calcium levels we have the better! We also need to know what your parathyroid hormone is currently and in the past, and again, the more we have the better...(but we will settle for just two parathyroid hormone levels if they show what is expected).  Other labs will be helpful as well, so send them as well...don't just send the calcium and parathyroid hormone levels. We want a good, safe outcome, so we need to know all of your important medical history. Also, if we have recent labs, we will typically not have any labs done on you while you are here. This is always the SLOWEST part of the process... so bug them to send your stuff!

  2. Send us a copy of your doctor's notes. The doctor (or doctors) which has been working up your parathyroid problem will have "clinic notes" about you where he/she has been noting the parathyroid problem and other problems you may have as well.  We want these notes and your lab reports. Simply ask them to send them to us and they will do so. Use the fax or mail addresses below. Again, its better to send us too much than to send us only part of the picture. GETTING YOUR DOCTOR'S OFFICE TO FAX YOUR RECORDS TO US IS ALWAYS THE SLOWEST PART OF THIS PROCESS. If you mail it, do NOT put it in the same package as your x-rays! Send them separate!
    Parathyroid surgery at the Norman Parathyroid surgery clinic.

  3. Send us a copy of your parathyroid sestamibi scan. If you have had this test, Dr. Norman wants to see it. To do this, go to the hospital or clinic where you had the scan, and request that it be sent to us. It's that simple. Use the address above for mailing or FedEx / UPS of your x-rays.  If you haven't had a scan yet, do not get one. It will be a waste of time and will be repeated here 30 minutes before you go to the operating room. If you have had a thyroid ultrasound test, please have this sent also. Please, don't go overboard with the shipping... the x-ray is just a piece of plastic; don't treat it likes it's an invaluable family heirloom. Don't over wrap it. Don't put tape all over it. Don't put it in some huge box with Styrofoam peanuts. And, don't put your labs and doctor's notes in the same package. PLEASE SEND YOUR X-RAYS TO US IN A SEPARATE ENVELOPE FROM YOUR DOCTOR NOTES.
    Parathyroid surgery at the Norman Parathyroid surgery clinic.

  4. Write a brief clinical history of yourself.   The is best done by filling out the secure and private history form, and then dropping Faith a brief introductory email. Tell us your problems in your own words and correlate them to what your doctor's have told you and the results of your lab tests. Give us a picture of you're overall health as well as your parathyroid problems. This can be emailed to Faith by clicking here.
    Parathyroid surgery at the Norman Parathyroid surgery clinic. calcium problem.

  5. Parathyroid.com uses secure web servers.Make a list of your current medications. We will have you insert this list into our online form. Its easy! Remember, our forms are completely secure. 
    Parathyroid disease and parathyroid problems treated by parathyroid s

  6. Insurance coverage will be addressed by Michelle or Barbara. We take all types of insurance, including Medicare. Since parathyroid surgery is essentially always an outpatient procedure when performed by Dr Norman, most insurances don't require pre-authorization. If you have a rare insurance that we don't take, we will write you a "Letter of Medical Necessity" that you can submit to obtain 'out of network' coverage. We have a SECURE Online Insurance Form that makes the insurance submission and verification process easy. When you submit this form, Michelle will receive it and confirm your eligibility with your insurance company. Typically this is all you need to do!  Insurance questions can be addressed via email to michelle@parathyroid.com. Please do not send insurance questions to Kelly, she is a nurse! ALSO, do not email generic insurance questions to Michelle, she will get to you when its your turn and will tell you what you need to know. Read more about your financial responsibilities on our ABN form... you will be required to check the box that says you read this when you fill out the online forms.
    Parathyroid disease and parathyroid problems treated by parathyroid s

  7. Pick a day for the procedure and then make travel arrangements.  Michelle will help you decide which day will be best for you to come to Tampa and will book your operation at that time. Drs Norman and Politz operate as a team on every patient and perform 11 to 14 parathyroid operations every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday... and some Fridays. You will need to arrive in Tampa the afternoon before the operation and can leave the morning after (if you are traveling by car you can go home immediately after leaving the hospital). We have arrangements with several local hotels where you can stay the night before and after. Usually it is best if you get into town the afternoon or evening prior to the operation. All pre-registration will take place over the telephone and no pre-op testing is required. You do not come by the clinic or the hospital ahead of time. You will come to the hospital early in the morning of the operation. You will get checked in, spend time with Dr Norman and Dr Politz discussing your case, get a sestamibi scan, review the scan with Dr Norman, meet the rest of the operating team, have the 15 - 20 minute operation, go to the recovery room for about 1.5 hours and then go home. That's it. If you are the first or second case of the day, you can expect to be out of the hospital on your way home by about 10:00 am. If you are the third or fourth case of the day, you can expect to be out of the hospital on your way home by about 11:00 am. Etc.
    .
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  8. The morning of the procedure you will get a high resolution parathyroid sestamibi scan. We do far more of these scans than anyone in the world, and we feel very confident in saying we are the best in the world at this scan. This scan will provide a good 3-dimensional view of where your parathyroid tumor is most likely located. It also makes the parathyroid tumor radioactive for a few hours so we can use our probe to find the darn thing! This scan only takes between 10 and 15 minutes to complete (it doesn't take us several hours like it does at other places), so you will have more time to discuss your case and have any additional questions answered. Dr Norman will review your scan with you and show you what it has revealed. Every patient will get to see their own scan and see what it shows. NOTE: Dr Norman and Dr Politz do EVERY operation together and we NEVER use residents who are learning to operate. Again, we don't have residents doing the operations. We don't use resident anesthesiologists either. There is nobody "LEARNING" on your operation! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT TO YOU!  Have you watched the movie yet?
    Parathyroid disease and parathyroid problems treated by 

  9. Staying in town after the procedure.   If you want to stay in a hotel the night of the procedure, that is ok and is what almost everybody who lives outside Florida does (if they don't have family or friends in the central Florida area). Important! As discussed in #7 above, The Norman Parathyroid Clinic has special deals with more than 8 local hotels which are fairly close by and quite inexpensive. It is RARE for anybody to spend more than one night in Tampa after the operation... and virtually nobody spends the night IN the hospital after a parathyroid operation--we haven't done that for years!! (NOTE: If you have not read the "Testimonial Page" yet, please do so. Bottom line: People traveling by car can make plans to get in the car about 1.5 hours after the operation and head on home. People traveling by airplane should spend the night of the operation in a Tampa (or Orlando area) hotel.
    Parathyroid Surgery. Parathyroid operation. Parathyroid surgery. Parathyroid operation.

  10. What if I have problems? Who do I call?  All of our patients get a detailed sheet of postoperative instructions. All of our patients get a box of calcium pills that they are take beginning the night of surgery. All patients get Dr Norman's and Dr Politz's home phone number and their cell phone numbers--and are instructed to call them directly if they have any problems. One of our doctors will call every patient the evening of the operation to make sure you understand what was found  and to answer any more questions that you may have. Your doctors will get a copy of the operative report and the pathology report within several days. All of your doctors will also get a personal letter from Drs Norman/Politz describing what was found, what was done, and what will likely be your calcium requirement for years to come (based on their experience with thousands of similar patients and the results of your bone density scans). The bottom line is this: We have done so many of these operations that it has become a very simple out-patient procedure with extremely low risk. We have never had a serious complication, wound infection or other wound problem, post-operative bleeding complication, permanent voice box nerve injury, or hyp0parathyroid complication. We have never had to bring somebody back to the hospital to be admitted after their operation. NEVER.
    Parathyroid Surgery. Parathyroid operation. Parathyroid surgery. Parathyroid operation.

  11. When can I drive or fly home? When can I go back to work?  Virtually ALL patients are sent home about 1 to 2 hours after their parathyroid operation. We have not had a parathyroid patient spend the night in the hospital in several years (more than 6,500 consecutive patients have gone home within 2 hours--it's that simple). People who travel by car will usually travel home when they are released (they should NOT drive for 24 hours, but they can be a passenger). We prefer patients who are flying to wait until the morning after the operation to travel by plane. As soon as you leave the hospital you can eat anything you like... we encourage you to go out to dinner and celebrate the first day of your new and improved life! You will be given a box of calcium pills and instructions on how often to take them. You will be taking Advil (Motrin, Ibuprofen) for pain--that's it. You can go back to work the day after the surgery, although some people take that day off too. It is very rare for somebody to require more than 24 hours to recover. The day after surgery you will have zero restrictions. Do what you want.
    Parathyroid surgery. expertise.

  12. Follow Up. You will need to be seen after the operation, at about one to three weeks, primarily to get your blood tested to measure your calcium and PTH levels. We will communicate this with your physician to make these arrangements. This visit is simple since there are no stitches to remove (WATCH THE MOVIE OF THIS OPERATION--YOU WILL LEARN A LOT ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU SEE THIS SIMPLE OPERATION AND LISTEN TO A SHORT LECTURE FROM DR NORMAN). Drs Norman/Politz will send your doctor(s) a personal letter describing what was done and why, and will forward to them a copy of the operative report (the technical description) immediately after the operation. The most important aspect of your follow up is that someone needs to be available to you to check your calcium levels a week or two after the operation--so we have developed protocols that are very simple and have GREAT results. We provide you with everything you need--complete written instructions, a box of Citrical calcium tablets, even our home phone numbers! Remember, a small quick operation is not any good if we have problems...the number one goal is SAFETY...nothing else is more important. 

 

More About Dr Norman

Dr Norman is unquestionably the most experienced parathyroid surgeon in the world, and for the past decade has limited his surgical practice to parathyroid operations. -- He does not perform any other type of general or ENT surgery. Dr Norman performs more parathyroid operations than any other surgeon (or institution!) in the world, now averaging about 1800 parathyroid operations annually (about 36 per average week). Dr Norman has performed over 8,000 parathyroid operations on patients ranging from 3 months old to 98 years old and operates on people over the age of 80 once or twice per day and on teenagers about every 1-2 weeks. He also operates at least once or twice per day on a patient that has had an unsuccessful parathyroid operation somewhere else. It is safe to say that there probably isn't a parathyroid problem that Dr Norman hasn't seen.

Dr Norman has held several important academic positions, including Professor of Surgery (with tenure) and Professor of Internal Medicine (with tenure) at the University of South Florida College of Medicine. He also held the position of Director of Endocrine Surgery at USF and the Director of Surgical Core Laboratory for Surgical Research.  Dr Norman left USF in 2000 to open the Norman Parathyroid Clinic.  He is a member of more than 20 prestigious medical societies, including the American Association for Endocrine Surgeons, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Fellow of the American College of Endocrinology, the American Association for Clinical Endocrinology, the Endocrine Society, the Society of University Surgeons, American Association for Head and Neck Surgeons, the Society of Surgical Oncology, the Southeastern Surgical Congress, the American College of Surgeons, the Association for Academic Surgeons, the Society for Laparoendoscopic Surgeons, AOA medical honor society (top 10% of doctors), the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, and many more. His is one of only a handful of surgeons worldwide who is also a fellow of the American College of Endocrinology (FACE). He was the president of his medical school class, been voted 'Faculty of the Year' and 'Teacher of the Year' several times while at the University of South Florida, and served many leadership rolls within the societies he belongs. He has been recognized as one of America's Top Surgeons by the Consumer Research Council of America.  He scored in the 99+ percentile on his surgery boards, and has served as an examiner for the American Board of Surgery. Dr Norman has published more than 250 medical journal articles as well as 12 books and/or book chapters.  Most of Dr. Norman's publications revolve around his extensive work with endocrine disorders including parathyroid glands, parathyroid surgery and pancreas disorders. Dr Norman publishes medical journal articles on parathyroid disease on a near-monthly basis. A full copy of Dr Norman's curriculum vitae (resume') is online in PDF format--Click Here to view. All of Dr Norman's credentials are there, along with a full list of his publications, etc, etc.  He is married to a family practice physician and has two incredible children (a girl 16, and a boy 14).

Dr. Norman is a frequent speaker on the topic of parathyroid surgery, giving talks around the US on a frequent basis.  He has been an invited speaker on the topic of minimal parathyroid surgery at the American College of Surgeons Annual Meeting on 4 occasions. Dr Norman has published several of the largest parathyroid articles of all time, and serves as a reviewer for several medical journals. Dr Norman holds 9 US and foreign patents (with another 4 patents pending), including the patent for the techniques and tools used in radioguided parathyroidectomy which recognize his contributions to minimal parathyroid surgery.  Dr Norman was a central member of the prestigious Moffitt Cancer Center team that helped develop sentinel lymph node mapping for breast cancer and melanoma (which is now the preferred way to perform breast cancer and melanoma surgery just as it is for parathyroid surgery). Dr Norman has received more than $4.2 million in federal and industry grants to support his research, including grants from the Department of Veteran's Affairs. 

More About Dr. Politz.

Dr. Douglas Politz, MD; Doug Politz, MD Dr. Politz obtained his Bachelor of Science degree from Louisiana State University where he was the recipient of an Honor’s Scholarship and Leadership Scholarship. He then attended LSU Medical School where he graduated with the Chancellor’s Award as the Most Outstanding Graduate. He was the president of his medical school class and received multiple honors and awards. He is a member of the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society (eligible to the top 10% of US medical school graduates). Dr. Politz obtained his surgical training at the University of South Florida, where he worked with Dr. Norman for 5 years. He was awarded Most Outstanding Resident and/or Resident of the Year on 5 different occasions. Dr. Politz is board certified in General Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS), is a member of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, and is a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (among other medical societies). After graduating residency he practiced surgery in Austin, Texas where he introduced MIRP mini-parathyroid surgery to the state of Texas, building an extensive referral network making him the number one parathyroid surgeon in Texas. With the exception of Dr Norman, Dr Politz has performed far more parathyroid operations than any other surgeon worldwide (over 4500). Both surgeons now participate in every patient's operation, so all patients get the expertise of the two most experienced parathyroid surgeons. Doug is married to Laura Politz, MD (Obstetrics and Gynecology) and they have 3 small children, a boy 5 and twin girls 3. 

*Note: The statistics on this page do not guarantee a good outcome for every patient, they simply reflect the fact that we do LOTS of parathyroid operations and our expertise allows us to have exceptional results. Our anesthesia team has done thousands. We've done thousands. BUT--Every patient is an individual and will be treated as an individual to have the best results with the lowest possibly risk and the highest possible cure rate. These excellent results also shows that we follow our patients so we always know how we are doing. We don't guess!

Suggested Readings:

More information about the Norman Parathyroid Surgery Clinic.
Read what patients say about going to Tampa for their surgery (note all of the doctors that come to Tampa when they need to have parathyroid surgery! We operate on a doctor almost every week!)
Cure rates and complication rates for different types of parathyroid surgeries. Choose your surgeon wisely! 
Mini-parathyroid surgery--what is it, and why it is sooooo much better than regular parathyroid surgery. YEP, just about EVERYBODY can have mini-parathyroid surgery.
How Minimally Invasive Radioguided Parathyroid (MIRP) surgery is performed.
See why 96% of endocrinologists would have a MIRP mini parathyroid surgery if they had to have parathyroid surgery.(and why we operate on one or more doctors almost every day).
See Dr Norman's complete CV ... A listing of all of his credentials, education, publications, grants, patents, etc. (PDF format, requires Adobe Acrobat to read). Link to Dr. Norman's State License (this is a Florida State web site and you will have to enter "Norman, James" into the search box. Link to Dr Norman's listing at the American College of Surgeons web site.
Read our Disclaimer.

For driving directions to Tampa General Hospital click here.
For a Map of how to get to Tampa General Hospital click here. 

 

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consulting on over 3500 parathyroid patients and performing approximately 1800 mini-parathyroid operations annually.
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