The way parathyroid surgery is done is the surgeon will make a small incision in the skin of the neck and parts a thin layer of muscle to gain access to the thyroid gland and the parathyroid glands behind it.
The parathyroid surgery will be done under general anesthesia where you'll be asleep and unaware and it will be pain free.
The parathyroidectomy procedure can take anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours once you are asleep.
It depends on how quickly we can find and confirm the removal of the abnormal gland.
The symptoms of a parathyroid tumor are.
Aches and pains, especially in your bones.
Kidney problems, including pain in your upper back or side.
Depression.
Stomach pain.
Loss of appetite and intense thirst.
Nausea.
Vomiting.
Fatigue.
A parathyroid tumor is a growth inside a parathyroid gland.
The parathyroid glands are 4 small, pea-sized glands located in your neck near the thyroid gland.
They're part of the endocrine system.
This system controls hormones in your body.
The parathyroid glands make parathyroid hormone.
Parathyroid tumors are often not cancer.
But some can be cancer.
These tumors can cause hypercalcemia, a serious condition in which the body has too much calcium in it.
The exact cause of these tumors is not known.
Up to 85 percent of individuals with parathyroid survive at least 5 years after they are diagnosed.
The disease recurs in approximately half of individuals.
If cancer does recur, it will commonly be within 3 years of the original diagnosis and up to 78 percent of people with recurrent cancer survive at least 5 years.
A parathyroid adenoma is a benign (noncancerous) growth in a parathyroid gland.
Parathyroid cancer is when malignant (cancer) cells form in your parathyroid tissue.
Within the scope of parathyroid disorders, parathyroid adenomas are much more common than parathyroid cancer.
Because parathyroid cancer is so rare and it cannot be cured if it recurs, it is very important that surgery to remove it is performed by a surgical endocrine oncologist who has extensive expertise in thyroid and parathyroid surgery whenever parathyroid cancer is suspected.