Do all surgeons perform parathyroid surgery?
No.  For many years, general surgeons, and some ENT surgeons have performed parathyroid surgery.  However, like all other forms of surgery and medicine, the treatment of parathyroids is becoming very specialized. Most general surgeons perform breast surgery, hernias, gallbladders, and numerous intestinal/abdominal operations. The typical general surgeon performs less than 2 parathyroid operations per year. The results of this 'lack of experience' shows in multiple publications, with lesser experienced surgeons having successful outcomes after parathyroid surgery in only about 85% of cases. We operate on people EVERY DAY who has had an operation performed by a general surgeon and they are not cured, and often have had a serious complication. You MUST choose your surgeon wisely! The most important information we can give you is that you should pick a surgeon that performs 50 or more of these operations per year...otherwise your chance of a poor outcome or a serious complication is higher. And... if you see a surgeon that tells you he/she does 50 parathyroid operations per year, ask them if this includes thyroid operations... its NOT the same!  Click to read more. 

Don't General Surgeons get trained to perform parathyroid surgery during their residency training?
Yes, and no.  The American Board of Surgery is the group that monitors surgery residencies and certifies surgeons to perform surgery. Between the years 1990 and 2000, the average number of parathyroid operations performed by surgeons upon completion of their residency was 2.  In other words, the typical surgeon has performed only 2 parathyroid operations total when they become 'board certified' in general surgery. However, once a surgeon is board certified they are allowed to do any operation they want--even if its an operation they have never done before in their life. Parathyroid disease is uncommon, and about 1/4 of all surgery residents (surgeons in training) graduate and become board certified having done ZERO parathyroid operations. As you have read in other areas of this web site, the most variable anatomy in the entire human body is the anatomy of the parathyroid glands. This explains the often poor results seen with parathyroid surgery, and the reluctance of endocrinologists to send patients for parathyroid surgery.  In the February 10th, 2003 New York Times, there was an article about the dangers of having surgery for a delicate operation when the surgeon only does a few per year. Parathyroid surgery is one of those operations.  Footnote for surgery training statistics: Harness JK, et al, Surgery 1995; These same experts have suggested that thyroid and parathyroid surgery should be done at specialty centers; their conclusions: Organizing teams of specialists into thyroid centers (centers of excellence) can (1) increase efficiency; (2) increase quality of care; (3) decrease costs; (4) encourage a more individualized approach to surgery; (5) lower complication rates; and (6) foster innovation in technology and disease management.: Harness JK, et al, World Journal of Surgery 2000.

My surgeon says he does mini-parathyroid surgery. How can I tell if he really does mini-surgery?
Surgeons are typically very smart and talented individuals. They know that patients want the most advanced operation and the least invasive operation. And, almost always, surgeons want to provide this to the patients knowing it is in the best interest of the patient also. Some surgeons, however, will occasionally tell the patients what they want to hear.  So be informed and ask these few questions: 1) Will I have to spend the night in the hospital after the operation? If the answer is "Yes", then the chances are high that the operation planned is not a mini parathyroid operation or this surgeon may not be very experienced parathyroid surgery. Of course, no surgeon can predict the future, and the primary goal of the surgeon is to take care of you safely... so it is possible that you will have to spend the night in the hospital even if you have the best parathyroid surgeon in the world. BUT...mini-parathyroid surgery almost NEVER requires the patient to spend more than a couple hours in the hospital after the operation. 2) Will you be putting a drain in my neck? If the answer to this question is "yes", then ask why! There is almost never a need for a drain (to remove blood) to be left in the neck after a parathyroid operation. If your surgeon routinely puts a drain in all of his/her patients following parathyroid surgery, then you should question this. Again, this could be a tip-off that your surgeon may not be using the most modern techniques and/or that he/she is not very experienced in parathyroid surgery.  3) What probe do you use a probe to help find the bad parathyroid gland?  Ask which probe and if they have a probe that is specific for parathyroid surgery and not just the melanoma and breast cancer probe. Not everybody uses a probe, but if they do, it must be a probe manufactured for parathyroid surgery and not breast surgery... they are different probes. 4) How big will the incision be?  Most surgeons who do 50 or more parathyroid operations per year (probably only about 12 of these surgeons in the US) will use a very small incision. For thin people, the incision we make is about 1 inch OR LESS. For people above 200 lbs it should be about 1.5 inches OR LESS. 5) Will there be stitches or staples to take out? If there are, then you may want to seek out another surgeon. Those days are gone! 6) Will you put a breathing tube in my throat to monitor my vocal cords during surgery? If your surgeon says yes, then you may want to go somewhere else. This is usually associated with ENT surgeons who don't do this operation very often. Clearly this is not minimal anesthesia, and if they need to monitor your vocal cord nerves so they don't damage them... then that is a BAD SIGN. Surgeons who do this operation all the time do NOT monitor the vocal cord nerves... avoid this.  7) How many parathyroid operations do you perform EACH WEEK? If your surgeon is not performing parathyroid surgery EVERY WEEK, then you have a significantly increased chance of NOT getting a mini-parathyroid surgery. If they are not doing parathyroid surgery weekly, then they are almost surely not a parathyroid expert, and therefore, your chances of being cured are lower. REMEMBER... parathyroid disease is uncommon or rare! So there cannot be an expert in every town! IT IS NOT POSSIBLE!   8) If you don't find the tumor easily, will you need to make the incision larger?  If your surgeon says yes, then you have a surgeon that is not as experienced as you would like. This means that there is near 100% chance you will have a big incision.  Bottom line... if your surgeon isn't doing 50 parathyroid operations per year, then you want to keep looking. Would you fly on an airplane if the pilot only flew 25 times a year?

I've had an allergic reaction to x-ray dye. Can I have a Sestamibi Scan?
YES!  The material that is used to perform a Sestamibi Scan is completely un-related to other types of dyes used for CAT scans, Arteriograms, and other forms of x-rays.  Having an allergy to IVP (x-ray) dye has no bearing on your ability to have a Sestamibi Scan.  We get asked this question twice a week.  Hear us well--- it is not related to any other scans, and it has no cross-reactivity.

My Sestamibi Scan doesn't show an adenoma. Does this mean I can't have a MIRP.
Well, it  depends on who your surgeon is. Most surgeons, even some very experienced ones will not do a mini operation if your scan is negative. HOWEVER, some surgeons will do mini parathyroid operations on all patients regardless of the scan results. LET US SAY THIS AGAIN CLEARLY.... SOME SURGEONS PERFORM MINI PARATHYROID OPERATIONS ON ALL PATIENTS--REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE SCAN SHOWS!  We perform nearly 2000 Sestamibi Scans per year, more than anyone else in the world. We have written journal articles and book chapters on our very specific technique that gives us such wonderful scans.  If your scans do not look clean, crisp and in focus, then your scans could probably be performed with a different technique that may show your tumor.  The difference in the quality of Sestamibi Scans is simply appalling. Patients send us their films on a daily basis (we see about 2200 per year from other hospitals), and we believe that about half are not of sufficient quality that we would rely on them for any medical decision. If your scans are not clear and crisp so that you personally can understand them then ask your doctor to find a nuclear medicine department that does these on a regular basis. And, take a copy of this technical page to give to them...its how we do it here. We show our patients their scan, and over 90% can understand it and show us the tumor without us having to explain it to them--that's how clear and crisp the scans should be.   HOWEVER, even if your scan is negative, YOU CAN STILL HAVE MINI-PARATHYROID SURGERY---this is a decision made by the SURGEON, not the endocrinologist and not the radiologist. Surgeons don't operate on x-rays... they operate on humans!! There are several techniques that should be used for ALL patients to minimize the size of this operation and to increase cure rate!  We perform Minimally Invasive Radioguided Parathyroid surgery on ALL patients REGARDLESS OF WHAT THEIR SCAN PERFORMED AT THEIR HOME HOSPITAL SHOWS! We do not choose our patients based upon scan results. We do not require a scan on our patients before they come here for surgery. We do NOT require a positive scan for you to be accepted as our patient. AGAIN---We do NOT care what your scan shows or even if you had one. All we care about is that your lab values show you have parathyroid disease. If you do, then you get a MINI-operation. 

My Sestamibi Scan shows a 'possible' adenoma.  What does this mean?
It can mean several things.  In all of his publications, Dr Norman defines a 'positive' Sestamibi Scan as a scan that "shows a single focus of radioactivity which is distinct from the thyroid gland".  In order to do this, there are very specific maneuvers the Sestamibi technicians must perform to allow for enough detail to be achieved. A few single adenomas, and those patients with multiple bad parathyroid glands will not show a positive scan as defined above.  Thus, even at the Norman Endocrine Surgery Clinic, we can expect that about 14% of patients will not have a "positive" scan. About 5-7 percent will have a 'suggestive' scan which indicates a 'possible' adenoma. The remaining 5-7 percent will be completely negative--nothing shows up to indicate which parathyroid gland is bad. Typically these patients have 4 bad glands and not just one, so in this case the Sestamibi was CORRECT in that it did NOT show a single bad gland (a 'true negative test'). BUT DON'T WORRY!!! An experienced surgeon can still operate on you and cure you with a very safe operation. Talk to your surgeon about this. We perform MINIMAL PARATHYROID SURGERY EVERY DAY ON PATIENTS WHO HAVE "NEGATIVE" AND "SUGGESTIVE" SCANS.  ESSENTIALLY 100 PERCENT OF ALL PATIENTS GET A MINIMAL OPERATION at our center.

Am I too old for parathyroid surgery?  Isn't it too risky at my age?
Surgery always has a risk associated with it. However, so does having parathyroid disease for several years. Typically the risk of having parathyroid disease is much higher than having surgery--especially if mini-surgery is performed!  Modern anesthesia is very safe.  Most importantly, however, Mini-Parathyroid Surgery makes the entire operation safer and smaller.  The anesthesia risk is decreased on an operation that takes less than 20 minutes on average versus one that takes 2-6 hours. Local anesthesia can be use for Mini-Parathyroid Surgery and thus a general anesthesia can be avoided.  Drs Norman and Politz have operated on many parathyroid patients in their 80's and 90's, and one over 100! We operate on people over the age of 80 about every other day. Bottom line: Age is NOT an issue and should not prevent a patient from having an operation--by an experienced parathyroid surgeon. Age IS a reason to avoid the major parathyroid operation performed by a general surgeon who may not be very experienced at this operation. Parathyroid surgery is easy if your surgeon is an expert. One final note: In 2005 we performed 128 parathyroid operations on patients over the age of 80. Our average operating time for this group was 16.2 minutes. The shortest operation took 10 minutes while the longest took 21 minutes. 100% were cured, and 100% went home about 1.5 hours later with a Band-Aid on their neck. 100% had an incision that was 1 inch or less. This is why people seek out an expert for their parathyroid surgery.  In May 2007 we published a medial journal article showing the safety of operating on patients over 80 years of age and sending them home within 2 hours. The average operative time was under 17 minutes and everybody did great... they all went home within 2 hours. We now operate on people over the age of 80 nearly every day, sometimes 2 or 3 people over 80 in one day. The article citation is: Politz D, Norman J. Hyperparathyroidism in patients over 80: clinical characteristics and their ability to undergo outpatient parathyroidectomy. Thyroid, 2007. Apr;17(4):333-9

What is 'Light Anesthesia'. Why is it better than 'General Anesthesia' in many cases?
The principle requirement is that the patient must be made numb so they don't feel the tissues being cut. Another desirable effect is to make the patient 'un-aware' of what is happening so they don't worry or become too anxious (or talk too much!). Thirdly, it is often beneficial to have the patient not remember things in the operating room (give amnesia).  General Anesthesia is when you are 'put to sleep'.  General anesthesia accomplishes all of the above, but it suppresses your brain to such a degree that a tube must be put down your throat into your trachea so that a machine can breath for you. Mini parathyroid surgery can be done via 1) general endotracheal anesthesia, 2) "light" anesthetic that uses an anesthesiologist to give a mild sedative in your vein and a soft piece of plastic to hold your mouth open so you can breath on your own, 3) local anesthesia with IV sedation, or 4 via a cervical block where the nerves to the neck are numbed by an anesthesiologist prior to going to the operating room. Like most of the parathyroid experts world-wide, we have used all of these techniques at one time or another as the situation dictates. We now use the light anesthesia with an LMA airway on almost all cases. The combination of drugs that the anesthesiologist can give makes the surgery painless, and keeps the patient quiet and restful. They breath on their own, and wake up more refreshed than after general anesthesia. They can typically go home in an hour or two. Depending on the patient, light anesthesia with IV sedation can be less risky to the heart and other organs than general anesthesia. You are "asleep" enough that you don't feel or remember anything, but you are awake enough that you don't have to be put on a breathing tube that goes into your trachea. Since we tilt your head back a bit to get access to the parathyroid tumor, we typically put a small piece of soft plastic in the back of your mouth to keep your tongue out of the way so you can breath good (this is the LMA). You will NOT be aware of any of this, and you will NOT feel any of this. Bottom line, some expert parathyroid surgeons use other methods that work well for them and their patients in their hospital. Trust your surgeon on this!!!  However, most patients can avoid the full endotracheal general anesthesia. And... as noted above, as a general rule, avoid surgeons who use a tube to monitor your vocal cord nerves. Our data shows these surgeons have the worst complication rates... not opinion... this is factual.

If the parathyroid operation is performed under "Light Anesthesia", wont I be too awake and nervous?
This is an excellent question. The anesthesiologist will be giving you some sedative medication into your veins. This will make you sleepy, restful and quite peaceful. You will be awake enough to move yourself onto the operating table, but then you will just close your eyes and relax and go to sleep.  The nice thing about these new sedative medications is that they wear off quite quickly, so when the anesthesiologist turns it off, the patient typically wakes up and feels quite normal within a few minutes. All patients are monitored by the anesthesia team during the entire procedure (like a major surgery) for safety reasons. You will not know what is going on, and you will have no memory of the procedure. You will be ASLEEP, but not so much that your body functions have to be run by a machine! If your surgeon puts all of his/her patients under general endotracheal anesthesia for this operation then it may be a clue that they don't do many of these... and that their anesthesiologist doesn't do many.

Leaving the Hospital After Mini-Parathyroid Surgery

When can I go home after Mini-Parathyroid Surgery (a MIRP Procedure) ?
Mini-Parathyroid Surgery, and specifically mini-parathyroid surgery done with radioguided assistance (the MIRP Procedure) is almost always done under very mild anesthesia (the patient is given sedatives in their veins, but they are not put on a breathing machine like a full general anesthesia). They are asleep for the procedure enough that they don't feel or remember a single thing, but they are awake enough to breath for themselves. This means that the patient typically is awake and alert within minutes of the operation. Usually within 15 minutes they are drinking juice and conversing with their family. Almost all patients are discharged within 1 to 1.5 hours of the operation. Most go out for a nice dinner to celebrate!

What happens to my Calcium levels right after the surgery ?
Your blood calcium level has been high for months or years. It will start going down immediately after the operation. Your remaining parathyroid glands have been dormant (asleep) as long as your calcium has been high. It will take a week or two for these normal parathyroids to ‘wake up’ and start controlling your calcium like they are supposed to. If we don’t give you calcium pills to take starting the evening of the operation, your calcium will go too low, and you will have symptoms of LOW Calcium. Therefore, ALL parathyroid patients are put on calcium pills after the operation. You must take the calcium pills or you will develop symptoms of LOW calcium during the first 1-10 days after the operation. Having a LOW blood calcium is more dangerous than a high calcium. This is the most important information on this page! 

The Symptoms of LOW calcium are:

What should I do if I have symptoms of LOW calcium after my surgery ?
If you have symptoms of low calcium--- take 2 extra calcium pills right away. How many calcium pills can you take? Take the 2 extra pills and if you still have symptoms 2 hours later, take 2 more. You can do this until you have taken an extra 10 pills. If you are still having symptoms, you may need to go to your local emergency room and have them check your calcium. If it is low, they can give you some calcium in your veins. NOTE: About 1/10 of all parathyroid patients will have some symptoms of low calcium… even if they take their pills, so you should expect it to some degree. But, taking more calcium pills will usually make the symptoms go away. How Long Will You Be on Calcium Pills? All parathyroid patients that we operate on are started on 4-5 calcium pills per day. I recommend Citrical which can be bought over-the-counter at any grocery store or pharmacy. We provide all of our patients with a box of Citracal.

Our typical Calcium dosing schedule following parathyroid surgery is:

Shouldn't patients spend the night after surgery to monitor their calcium levels?
This is a technique that was standard until the mid 1990's. If your surgeon is not very experienced with parathyroid surgery, he/she may have you spend the night (or several days!) and measure your calcium levels every 6-8 hours or so. We have taken care of thousands of these patients, so we know what to expect. We give all our patients calcium pills and full instructions on how many pills to take. This is very simple. Your calcium will drop when the bad parathyroid gland is removed, so... take some calcium pills for a couple of weeks. It is really no big deal as long as the patient takes their pills! We send about 1800 patients per year home an hour or two after the surgery and they begin taking their pills within 1 hour of leaving the hospital. AND... every patient gets Dr Norman's and Dr Politz's home telephone number and cell phone number so they can call them directly any time with any questions. Make sure you know to contact at your surgeon's office if you have problems with calcium after the operation. In late 2006 we published a study in a major medical journal showing how people react to their calcium levels after their operation. Endocrine Practice. 2007 Mar-Apr;13(2):105-13. This paper includes data on 3000 patients who were sent home immediately after their operation for primary hyperparathyroidism and started on the calcium protocol listed above. On this protocol, just under 7% of people got any symptoms of low calcium and almost all of them did just fine if they simply took a few more pills (some need as many as 12 pills per day, but don't do this without talking to your surgeon!). Only 6 people out of 3000 had to go to the emergency room for IV calcium (in their veins). Not a single person had to be admitted to the hospital. A link to this very important paper will be provided here in the near future when this article is published. Bottom line, you must take calcium pills after your operation or you will almost certainly get sick... some will get extremely sick. Take your pills and chances are extremely good that you will do wonderfully!

Should I take calcium for a few years so my bones get stronger again ?
If you have decreased calcium in your bones (osteopenia or osteoporosis), then you probably need to be on calcium for years. Your body will put calcium back into your bones (reverse some or all of the osteoporosis) over several years time.  You should also take Vitamin D daily, thus we recommend a calcium pill that has vitamin D already in it. Studies have shown that AFTER a parathyroid tumor has been removed, patients can expect their bone density to RISE about 6-7% per year for several years. This means that you can expect for your osteoporosis to get better and even go away after removing the parathyroid tumor. This will NEVER happen without surgery to remove the bad gland...no amount of Fosamax or any other drug will reverse the osteoporosis without surgery FIRST.

When can I eat after parathyroid surgery?
Drs. Norman and Politz let all of their patients eat whatever they want as soon as the operation is over. Many go out for dinner, and some of the ones that are operated on in the morning go out for LUNCH!  Really... the new operation is not a big deal! Talk to your doctor about this and get specific instructions.

What am I allowed to eat? Do I have to avoid Calcium in my diet?
You can eat whatever you want after your parathyroid surgery. You do NOT have to avoid calcium-containing foods. Your calcium problems are behind you, and you can have as much calcium in your diet as you like (see the section above...you should have lots of calcium in your diet!).

Can't I just wait and see what happens? Is parathyroid disease really that bad?
Well...The problem with this type of management of parathyroid disease is that the parathyroid hormone is working 24 hours per day to take calcium out of your bones. ALL patients with hyperparathyroidism will get osteoporosis if they wait long enough. Furthermore, most patients (about 95%) claim to feel a lot better once the parathyroid tumor is removed...thus you may be cheating yourself out of a better, more healthy lifestyle. We also know that long-term exposure to high calcium in the blood increases the chance of developing breast cancer, colon cancer, and kidney cancer. It also causes significant heart problems. People with untreated hyperparathyroidism have been shown in multiple studies to die several years earlier than they would. This is all covered on our Symptoms page.

Bottom line, almost all patients with parathyroid disease will be better off if they find a doctor who performs LOTS of parathyroid operations and has been trained in mini parathyroid surgery. Most people can have their parathyroid problem fixed in less than 20 minutes if they have the right surgeon with the right training, experience, and tools! So, with modern techniques and an expert parathyroid surgeon you can get this problem behind you in one morning.

My doctor put me on Fosamax. Will this drug help my bones get stronger?
NO, NO, NO. Taking Fosamax, Evista, Boniva, Actonel, etc will NOT help bones that are being attacked by a bad parathyroid. There are two important issues here. First, none of these drugs work on bones in the same way that parathyroid hormone does. It does not block the effects of parathyroid hormone (PTH). None of these drugs is approved by the FDA for helping bones in patients with hyperparathyroidism, and it has not been shown in any clinical trial to help increase bone density in patients with parathyroid disease. It does not work! Even the makers of Fosamax do not recommend using it for this purpose. Parathyroid hormone is much too powerful for Fosamax to overcome. Parathyroid patients can take Fosamax for years and their bones will continue to get thinner! Do not make this mistake! NOTE, these statements are true for Fosamax, Actonel, Evista, Boniva, Miacalcin, and others... not just Fosamax. Also, all of these drugs are GREAT drugs and they help many people with osteoporosis... but they don't work if you have a parathyroid tumor. They were not designed for this purpose or this disease.

Why did my doctor put me on Fosamax if it doesn't work?
The second issue is that a lot of endocrinologists don't want to send their patients for the big "old-fashioned" parathyroid operation... so rather than do that, they feel Fosamax "may be worth a try rather than send you for that big operation".  In a recent study (2000), 55% of endocrinologists stated that they have had at least one of their patients who was not cured after having the old-fashioned parathyroid surgery. This fuels their skepticism of parathyroid operations performed by surgeons who do not specialize in endocrine surgery. Of course, now that Minimally Invasive Parathyroid (MIRP) surgery is available, endocrinologists are rapidly changing their management. Now, 94% of endocrinologists stated that they would send all of their parathyroid patients for surgery if the MIRP operation was available. Its also the operation that 96% of endocrinologists would have if they had to have a parathyroid operation themselves! (CLICK HERE to read more about this important study that was published in the American Journal of Surgery in the Spring of 2003). Bottom line, the endocrinologist is trying to do whatever they can to help you and your bones. Some just don't know that these drugs don't work in patients with hyperparathyroidism, while others think that taking a simple pill once per week or once per month is worth a try.

Should I be taking calcium pills before the operation if I have osteoporosis?
Absolutely NOT. If you have hyperparathyroidism you should NOT take calcium pills. In fact, you should avoid high-calcium foods (like milk and cheese). Even if you have osteoporosis, you should NOT take calcium pills or a multi-vitamin if you have hyperparathyroidism. This will make you feel worse or could actually trigger a high calcium spike that can trigger a stroke. YES, we have seen people get a stroke because their doctor told them to take calcium pills for their osteoporosis even though they had hyperparathyroidism. AFTER the operation you should take lots of calcium so your bones can return to normal... but NOT BEFORE!

After parathyroid surgery, when do I see my surgeon again?
When to see your surgeon depends on what type of surgery you had. If you had the old-fashioned big surgery, you will probably spend a day or two in the hospital, and then will see the surgeon about one or two weeks later.  If you had a mini-parathyroid operation you will probably be sent home an hour or two after the procedure and will see the surgeon or your family doctor post op. Many times, the mini-surgery is so simple that you don't need to see the surgeon again, and can simply follow up with your family doctor or endocrinologist in a week or two. You just peel off the small Band-Aid one week after the operation. No stitches, no fuss.

After parathyroid surgery, when to I see my endocrinologist or family doctor again?
Again, the old-fashioned big parathyroid operation will often require more follow up visits. The wound is dramatically bigger and has much more potential complications, thus more visits to the doctor are often indicated. If you have the big operation, then you will see your endocrinologist or family doctor several weeks after your first visit to the surgeon after the operation.  If, however, you have a mini-parathyroid operation, you may be able to skip one or more doctor visits (mini-operation usually equals mini-problems!) and proceed directly to the endocrinologist or family doctor a week or 10 days after the mini-operation. Your surgeon will make these arrangements for you on a case-by-case basis. Of course, this is the kind of think you need to discuss with your surgeon and he/she will customize this process to what is best for YOU.

What happens at this doctor visit after the parathyroid surgery? Does anything in addition to the calcium level need to be checked?  Does the patient need an endocrinologist?
How you are treated after parathyroid surgery depends on whether you had mini-surgery or the old-fashioned surgery. Those who get a mini-operation and go home an hour later can have a post op visit any time within the first 2-3 weeks. There are no stitches to take out... nothing to do except get your blood tested for calcium and PTH. It is VERY simple! After that, there is nothing else to be done. Once cured, almost always cured (less than 1% chance of ever getting this disease again in your lifetime). The only issue left is deciding on how much calcium to take daily for years to help the bones get strong, and whether or not to put a patient on a bone-increasing drug. If you have an endocrinologist he/she will probably be the one that follows your osteoporosis for several years to document that your bones are getting stronger... and many family practice and internal medicine doctors know this well so you may not need the endocrinologist.  You do NOT have to get your calcium and PTH checked every year once you have proven that it has been cured.

If I go to Tampa for my surgery, what do you do about my wound and stitches?
Drs Norman and Politz use many modern surgical techniques, including the most modern sutures. All the sutures we use are absorbable, so the body will absorb them and they disappear in about a month. For the skin, we use a suture that is thinner than a human hair, and the wound is closed in a manner that allows all the stitches to be on the INSIDE... thus there are NO stitches to take out. This is a "Plastic Surgery" type of closure and it results in a very small, often un-noticeable scar that is about 1 inch in length. You go home with a small "steri-strip" bandage as the only bandage...like a 1 inch long piece of white tape over the wound. You can get this wet and shower/swim within 24 hours. Then you simply peal it off 1 week after the surgery. If you weigh less than 120 pounds, the wound is usually about 3/4 inch. You will be amazed at how simple this can be! Please watch the movie of the MIRP operation to see more about the wound and the stitches...Click Here to watch the movie.