Parathyroid venous sampling is an expensive and dangerous test that probably should never be done because it doesn't wor...

Parathyroid venous sampling is an expensive and dangerous test that probably should never be done because it doesn't work. It is also called: "Selective Parathyroid Venous Sampling" and you should not let it be done on you! Selective parathyroid venous catheterization is an invasive x-ray test performed by an invasive-radiologist. The goal of the test is to help find which part of your n...

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Canadians with hyperparathyroidism claim expertise in parathyroid surgery and long wait times as the reasons for traveling...

Canadians with hyperparathyroidism claim expertise in parathyroid surgery and long wait times as the reasons for traveling to Tampa for surgery. https://www.parathyroid.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/CalgaryHeraldNespaperArticle.jpg Parathyroid surgery in Canada Canadians travel to Tampa for parathyroid surgery. On April 6, 2014, the Calgary Herald published a...

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Measuring parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the operating room has some theoretical benefits, but in real life, the intra-opera...

Measuring parathyroid hormone (PTH) in the operating room has some theoretical benefits, but in real life, the intra-operative PTH assay (io-PTH testing) doesn't really help and may hurt. Measuring parathyroid hormone in the operating room cannot determine if a patient is cured of hyperparathyroidism. Intra-operative PTH Assay: The theory of measuring PTH in the operating room (io-PTH). ...

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Hyperparathyroidism sneaked up on me. I was feeling tired and old. I'm a family practice doctor so my job is to take c...

Hyperparathyroidism sneaked up on me. I was feeling tired and old. I'm a family practice doctor so my job is to take care of other people-to make them feel better. Yet I was miserable myself. My name is  Ashok Goyal MD and this is my story. I found myself not enjoying my job like I used to. I was tired all the time and I just thought I was over worked and getting old. And then it h...

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The internet is full of surgeons who claim to be experts at parathyroid surgery. But are they really doing expert work...

The internet is full of surgeons who claim to be experts at parathyroid surgery. But are they really doing expert work, or are they cheating and doing a simple operation that any joe-blow surgeon could do? Parathyroid surgery can be very tricky for a number of reasons.  First, there are four parathyroid glands and a person with hyperparathyroidism can have one, two, three, or rarel...

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Parathyroid tumors located in the chest can almost always be removed via a small neck incision. Don't split your sternum o...

Parathyroid tumors located in the chest can almost always be removed via a small neck incision. Don't split your sternum open to remove a parathyroid adenoma in your chest! https://www.parathyroid.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/PTH-Location.gif Parathyroid glands can be located from chin to bottom of heart. Parathyroid glands are located in the chest in about 2% of all people. This...

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Blood calcium levels vary as we age, but labs don't give normal calcium ranges according to age. The highest blood calcium...

Blood calcium levels vary as we age, but labs don't give normal calcium ranges according to age. The highest blood calcium levels are seen between the ages of 15 and 25.  Adults over 40 should not have calcium levels above 10.1 mg/dl. High blood calcium is never normal. Unfortunately, very few doctors understand that the normal range for blood calcium changes as we age. This graph shows how bl...

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Ectopic parathyroid glands occur in 5% of people, occasionally located high in the neck under the jaw (called an un-des...

Ectopic parathyroid glands occur in 5% of people, occasionally located high in the neck under the jaw (called an un-descended parathyroid gland). Inexperienced surgeons almost always overlook parathyroid adenomas when they are in uncommon or rare positions (ectopic parathyroids). https://www.parathyroid.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/PTH-Location.gif Ectopic parathyroid gl...

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Parathyroid cysts are uncommon, but can cause lots of symptoms of hyperparathyroidism sometimes, and no symptoms at all at...

Parathyroid cysts are uncommon, but can cause lots of symptoms of hyperparathyroidism sometimes, and no symptoms at all at other times. Cysts are fluid-filled sacks. Parathyroid cysts, therefore, are fluid-filled sacks that are growing out of one of the parathyroid glands. Parathyroid cysts are rare, occurring in about 1 out of 200 parathyroid operations for hyperparathyroidism.  We perform abo...

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Because 30% of people with hyperparathyroidism will have more than one parathyroid tumor, the most successful parathyroid ...

Because 30% of people with hyperparathyroidism will have more than one parathyroid tumor, the most successful parathyroid surgery only happens when surgeons examine all four parathyroid glands. This week we performed 52 parathyroid operations. Seven of these 52 had a previous parathyroid surgery somewhere else that was not successful so they came to see us.  In three cases, the surgeon could no...

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