Open AccessA rare case of giant parathyroid adenoma presenting with recurrent episodes of pancreatitis
Author(s) -
Arvind Krishnamurthy,
Gorantlu Chowdappa Raghunandan,
Vijayalakshmi Ramshankar
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
indian journal of nuclear medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 0972-3919
pISSN - 0974-0244
DOI - 10.4103/0972-3919.172355
Subject(s) - medicine , primary hyperparathyroidism , parathyroid adenoma , hyperparathyroidism , pancreatitis , acute pancreatitis , radiology , adenoma , scintigraphy , general surgery , surgery
Parathyroid adenomas are usually small in size; (weighing 70 mg-1 g) those weighing more than 2-3 g are classified as giant parathyroid adenomas. Giant parathyroid adenomas are in fact rarely encountered among patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. They are believed to have distinct clinical and biochemical features related to specific genomic alterations. We chanced to manage a unique and possibly the first case of giant parathyroid adenoma (6 cm diameter and weighing 20 g) presenting with recurrent episodes of pancreatitis and discuss its surgical management with an added emphasis on the role of nuclear imaging in its preoperative localization. Our case demonstrates that clinicians should have a high index of suspicion of primary hyperparathyroidism in patients presenting with recurrent episodes of pancreatitis. Timely diagnosis, appropriate preoperative localization techniques, which would include a parathyroid scintigraphy and a focused surgical intervention are crucial to resolve complications and improve outcomes.