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Parathyroid disease is called "hyperparathyroidism", affecting 1 in 1000 people causing high blood calcium--which leads to serious health problems. We've arranged parathyroid topics on separate pages. Normal parathyroid gland function is presented first. Hyperparathyroidism (parathyroid disease) is discussed next, including high blood calcium, symptoms and complications of hyperparathyroidism including osteoporosis, chronic fatigue, kidney stones, stroke, and increased cancer risks. The third section presents treatment of parathyroid disease including the 'old' standard operation and the new mini-parathyroid operation where almost everybody can be cured in less than 20 minutes. This "band-aid" operation can change your life! The latest advances in parathyroid surgery are discussed and illustrated with some cool videos.Less common parathyroid problems are discussed in later sections. If you are reading Parathyroid.com then you probably have a parathyroid tumor that needs to be removed.

Section 1:  Introduction to Parathyroid Glands

Introduction to Parathyroid Glands.  This page is the preferred starting point to learn what parathyroid glands are, where parathyroid glands are located in our necks, and what parathyroid glands do.

Normal Parathyroid Gland Function.  How parathyroid glands control the calcium in our blood, nervous system, and bones. If you have high calcium, you almost certainly have a parathyroid problem.

Section 2:  Parathyroid Disease and Hyperparathyroidism

Hyperparathyroidism is the principle disease of parathyroid glands. Hyperparathyroidism occurs when one of the parathyroids develops a tumor which makes too much parathyroid hormone. This tumor must be removed. Later you will read that a very simple operation will cure you... read this page to get started.

The Symptoms of parathyroid disease (hyper-parathyroid-ism) leading to high blood calcium are listed here and discussed. Many of you will be amazed what this small hormone-tumor will do to you, it even increases your risk of stroke, heart disease, and cancer.

Diagnosing Hyperparathyroidism and parathyroid disease is easy. Blood calcium levels and parathyroid hormone levels will make the diagnosis. If you have high calcium, you almost certainly have a parathyroid tumor. Parathyroid glands control calcium... Got a calcium problem?... look at parathyroid function. Take this page to your doctors.

Osteoporosis occurs because the parathyroid tumor takes calcium out of your bones. Remove the parathyroid tumor and regain bone density and bone strength. This kind of osteoporosis is 100% reversible.

Age Distribution of Parathyroid Disease.  Although parathyroid disease occurs most commonly in people over 50, young people get it too. This page shows who gets hyperparathyroidism and how common it is for all age groups.

Pictures and Photos of Parathyroid Tumors. See photos of the tumors we removed from our patients during a two week time period. This will allow you to compare your calcium and PTH levels to others who have already had surgery... so you can see what may be in your neck. Very informative. This is a must read page.

Causes of Parathyroid Tumors.  This page is advanced and discusses why and how the parathyroid glands develop into tumors. Don't start here, it will confuse you.

Causes of High Blood Calcium.  It is never normal to have a high blood calcium. We discuss the different diseases that can cause your blood calcium to go too high. Most people do not need to read this page... these diseases are too rare and you don't have them (you have a parathyroid tumor). This should only be read if your doctor told you that your high calcium might be caused by cancer - almost certainly its not cancer - it is almost certainly caused by a small, benign tumor of your parathyroid gland.

Low Vitamin D Levels.  Over 90% of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (a parathyroid tumor) have low vitamin D levels. This is the body trying to protect itself, but is very commonly misunderstood by endocrinologists. This is one of our more advanced pages. If your doctor told you that you have low vitamin D which is causing your high calcium, you should read this page because that is impossible. Now includes a video.

Diagnosing Hyperparathyroidism--ADVANCED.This is our best page on how to diagnose parathyroid disease, but it is more advanced. If you are a patient you should read this page after you have read our first page on the diagnosis of hyperparathyroidism. This is an important page you need to copy and take to your doctors. Read about parathyroid surgery and watch the operation movie before you read this page.

Section 3:  Treatment of Parathyroid Disease and Hyperparathyroidism:
Old 'Big' Parathyroid Surgery and New 'Mini' Parathyroid Surgery

The Standard Parathyroid Operation.  Since 1925 the treatment for parathyroid disease (hyperparathyroidism) has been surgery. This 'standard' parathyroid operation is still performed today like it was back then...but nobody should ever have this big operation!  If your surgeon doesn't perform at least one parathyroid operation every week or two, then go somewhere else.

Minimally Invasive Parathyroid Surgery.  Mini-parathyroid surgery (MIRP) was invented in 1993. This page discusses how virtually all parathyroid patients should have mini-surgery instead of the 'standard' parathyroid operation -- But you must find an experienced parathyroid surgeon... All patients should read this page and the next. Do not let your doctor tell you that you can't get mini surgery because your scan is negative. Everybody can have mini surgery. Period.

The MIRP Procedure.  This is a MUST READ SECTION.  This page of Parathyroid.com goes into the details of the MIRP procedure--a mini operation that cures over 99% of parathyroid patients. The operation uses only minimal anesthesia, typically takes less than 20 minutes, and patients go home about one or two hours later. Heck, the incision is usually only 1 inch. Click Here to see the a movie of this operation as it happened August 2, 2011. This is the state of the art in parathyroid treatment. There is no blood. This is very informative. Sit back, watch this movie, and learn. The entire operation to examine four parathyroid glands and remove two parathyroid tumors takes under 13 minutes.

Narrative that goes along with the 13 minute parathyroid operation video. This page describes all that is happening during the video of the mini-parathyroid operation. There is so much happening behind the scenes that allow this complex operation to be done so quickly that we made a page here so you can learn what is going on and why we do the things we do.

Who is Eligible to Have a MIRP Mini-Parathyroid Operation?  The operation you get (parathyroid, heart bypass, breast cancer, etc) depends on the skill and experience of your surgeon. Less experienced surgeons perform mini-parathyroid surgery only when a scan is positive. The better experts perform mini-parathyroid surgery on 100% of patients regardless of scan results.

Surgery Cure Rates.  The cure rate following parathyroid surgery can be dramatically altered by the experience of the surgeon. Even the New York Times has written about this problem. Be careful about choosing your surgeon for your parathyroid operation.

Become our Patient.  Instructions on how to become our patient like more than 2,200 patients do each year at the new Norman Parathyroid Center at Tampa General Hospital. View our MAP to see where our patients come from.

Section 4:  Localizing (finding) the Bad Parathyroid Gland

Finding the Bad Parathyroid Gland.  Parathyroid Glands are normally very small and can be very hard to find. Your surgeon's experience is the most important factor in finding the bad parathyroid gland--so please don't put too much emphasis on the scans discussed on this page. The biggest mistake is to emphasize the scan. It is not about the scan... it is about the skill and experience of your surgeon. Also discusses the danger of parathyroid needle biopsy.

Sestamibi Scanning is a very poor way to determine which parathyroid gland has developed a tumor. This test is wrong more than it is right. The scan is very dependent upon experience of the people doing it. If your scan is negative (and most are!), forget you ever had it. Remember, you don't care about the scan--you care about the skill and experience of your surgeon. Stop getting scans! Now includes a Video.

Do I have Just One Bad Parathyroid Gland? is by far the most common question ever asked. About 88 percent of all patients have just one bad parathyroid gland (a single tumor) and three normal parathyroid glands. About 12% have two bad glands.

Parathyroid Anatomy is described on this page--if you understand parathyroid anatomy you will understand why parathyroid surgery requires a lot of experience. The more experience your surgeon has, the higher the chance of cure and the lower the chance of complications.

Needing a Second Operation -- About 12% of people need a second parathyroid operation because their surgeon with too little experience could not find the bad parathyroid gland. This page is for those of you who have had an unsuccessful operation and now need a second (or third) operation to find that elusive parathyroid tumor. We perform between 1 and 4 re-operations every day.

Section 5:  Rare Parathyroid Problems
HypO-parathyroid disease, parathyroid cancer, parathyroids & pregnancy, and others...
[Do NOT start here--these are rare problems]

Parathyroid Cancer is extremely RARE.  Do not start reading this web site here!  Less than 1 in 4000 of parathyroid tumors are cancers. A lot of people read this page, but really nobody should read it because parathyroid cancer is so rare... you don't have it! Go to a different page.

Development of OTHER types of cancer due to Hyperparathyroidism. People who don't treat their hyperparathyroidism have a higher (sometimes dramatically higher) chance of developing Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, and to a lesser extent, Colon and Kidney cancer. This is discussed at the bottom of our page of Symptoms. If you didn't read this... you need to. Parathyroid disease is not a disease that should be "observed".

Hyp0parathyroidism is an uncommon complication of parathyroid or thyroid surgery--when all the parathyroids have been removed. This is HypO = too little.  Not good... This is almost always due to removal of all 4 parathyroid glands by a surgeon with little experience performing parathyroid surgery.

FHH.  FHH is a very rare genetic problem with high blood calcium and low urine calcium. If you have never heard of FHH, then do NOT read this page. This is for people who were told they have FHH because their 24-hour urine calcium is low--95% chance you do NOT have FHH.

Surgeon-Induced HypOparathyroidism. This page shows the results of the world's largest study of patients who were made hypoparathyroid by a surgeon who mistakenly removed all of their parathyroid glands. This is hyp0parathyroidism... too little parathyroid hormone due to a surgeon's mistake.

Treating Parathyroid Disease with Sensipar.  Sensipar (Cinacalcet) is a drug made for patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism due to kidney failure who are on dialysis. It has been tried on patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (what this entire web site is about) and it doesn't work, and make make patients worse. This drug should not be used unless you are on dialysis. Sensipar should NOT be used if your calcium is high.

Parathyroid disease during Pregnancy. This is a rare problem, but it can be very serious for both mother and child.

Life insurance companies know that untreated hyperparathyroidism is associated with a decrease in life expectancy and can use the diagnosis of hyperparathyroidism to deny you coverage.

MEN Syndromes are a rare familial disorder where three endocrine glands develop tumors, including the parathyroid glands. This is also incredibly rare... so don't waste too much time reading about this.

Read the stories of over 1000 patients with hyperparathyroidism; what they have to say about their disease and how it affected their lives. Read about their experience coming to the Norman Parathyroid Center to have their mini-parathyroid surgery.

Color our Cartoon.  One of our patients made a cartoon showing the symptoms of hyperparathyroidism. This one cartoon says it all.

Spanish Version of this website.

View Our Table of Contents to see all of the parathyroid pages listed with a brief description. Parathyroid.com is viewed over 1,000,000 times per month with over 13,500,000 page views annually.

See our Map of where our patients come from... you will find that we have operated on somebody that lives down the street from you. People love the map!

Check out our page with all of our teaching videos. Watch some really good videos!