Abstract
Ectopic parathyroid glands are frequently located in the thymus and may become hyperplasic
in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism. When medical management fails, surgical
removal is required, using either a traditional open sternotomy approach or video-assisted
thoracic surgery (VATS). We were able to excise large, bilateral, mediastinal parathyroid
glands using only left VATS. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported
case of the use of unilateral thoracoscopic subtotal thymectomy for the excision of
bilateral ectopic mediastinal parathyroid glands.
Key words
Thoracic surgery - ectopic parathyroid - unilateral thoracoscopy - hyperparathyroidism
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Dr. Fausto Fama', MD
Department of Human Pathology
University Hospital of Messina
Via Consolare Valeria, 1
98100 Messina
Italy
Phone: + 39 34 70 32 35 10
Fax: + 39 0 90 62 09 65
Email: famafausto@yahoo.it
