parathyroid.comParathyroid Glands, Hyperparathyroidism, High Calcium and Parathyroid Surgery by Expert Parathyroid

Surgeons. × Operating Exclusively at the Hospital for Endocrine Surgery Menu Home Calcium & Parathyroid Basics Parathyroid Intro Normal Parathyroid Function Hyperparathyroidism Parathyroid Symptoms Parathyroid Surgery Video Become Our Patient Become a Patient Hyperparathyroidism Hyperparathyroidism Diagnosis Treatment/Surgery Parathyroid Mini-Surgery MIRP Mini Surgery Parathyroid Pictures Osteoporosis Kidney Stones Who gets it? Finding the Tumor Get the Calcium Pro App Videos Surgery Video Teaching Videos Advanced Topics Do I have just one? What causes it? Sestamibi Scan Surgery Cure Rates Frequent Questions High Blood Calcium Low Vitamin D Normal Calcium Range Diagnosis - ADVANCED 10 Parathyroid Rules Parathyroid Cartoon Sensipar Parathyroid Cancer Re-Operate FHH Secondary HPT Norman Parathyroid CenterWho We Are Our Expert Surgeons Become Our Patient What Patients Say What’s New Patient Map Interesting Cases Parathyroid Blog Become Our Patient Travel & Hotels Our patients come from all over the world. Some are your neighbors! We made the Calcium Pro app to make high calcium and parathyroid problems easy to diagnose. Top-3 medical app of 2014, 15, and 16. Read our Parathyroid Blog! Interesting stories about hyperparathyroid patients we see every day. There are some great stories here! Read the stories of over 2,000 people who had parathyroid surgery at the Norman Parathyroid Center. Read the 10 Parathyroid Rules of Norman as published in the New York Times Share This Page on Facebook Visit Us on FacebookDesktop MobileBecome a Patient Parathyroid Glands, High Calcium, and Hyperparathyroidism Parathyroid Disease and Parathyroid Surgery From the World’s Leading Parathyroid Experts Parathyroid.com is the world’s leading source for parathyroid glands and their most common disease: hyperparathyroidism. The site is maintained by the Norman Parathyroid Center , the world’s leading parathyroid surgery center (performing nearly 3800 per year) operating exclusively at the new Hospital for Endocrine Surgery in Tampa. Hyperparathyroidism, parathyroid surgery, and blood calcium levels are discussed here in great detail. Last updated: 05/06/2024 Illustration of the 4 parathyroid glands located on the back side of the thyroid. We all have 4 parathyroid glands. Parathyroid glands control the amount of calcium in our blood. Everyone has four parathyroid glands, usually located right around the thyroid gland at the base of the neck. About 1 in 100 people (1 in 50 women over 50) will develop a parathyroid gland tumor during their lifetime, causing a disease called "hyperparathyroidism". Hyperparathyroidism is a destructive disease that causes high blood calcium, which can lead to serious health problems. It can be cured by surgically removing the parathyroid tumor. Hyperparathyroidism is not just an abnormal high blood calcium that can be monitored by your doctors. It is a serious disease that must be treated. This homepage is an overview of what is on our many pages arranged by topic. Normal parathyroid gland function is presented first. Hyperparathyroidism (parathyroid disease) is discussed next, including high blood calcium, symptoms and complications of hyperparathyroidism (osteoporosis, chronic fatigue, kidney stones, stroke, high blood pressure, and others). The third section presents treatment of parathyroid tumors, including mini-parathyroid surgery , which everyone is a candidate for. This operation can change your life! Section 1: Introduction to Parathyroid Glands What are Parathyroid Glands? Parathyroid glands are small glands of the endocrine system that control the amount of calcium in our blood and bones. There are 4 parathyroid glands located behind the thyroid gland in the neck that play a very critical role in many body functions. What is Normal Parathyroid Gland Function? The function of the parathyroid glands is to regulate blood calcium by secreting a hormone called parathyroid hormone (PTH) in response to blood calcium levels. We use calcium to run the electrical system of our bodies and many other functions. Become our Patient. We are the world’s leading parathyroid experts having performed over 60,000 parathyroid operations, more every year than the top 15 US hospitals and universities combined. About 3,500 patients per year will travel from around the world to have parathyroid surgery with us this year at our new home, the new Hospital for Endocrine Surgery , the world’s only full-service hospital dedicated to thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal surgery. This specialty hospital is COVID-Free! Have a Question? We know that there is a lot of information on the site and it can be hard to take it all in. If you have a question for our surgeons, please contact us using this form and we’d be happy to help. Section 2: Parathyroid Disease and Hyperparathyroidism Watch our award winning animation explaining parathyroid disease. Hyperparathyroidism occurs when one (or more) of the parathyroids develops a tumor which makes too much hormone leading to high calcium and other bad symptoms. This tumor must be removed. Watch the parathyroid surgery video of our surgeons performing the entire operation in less than 13 minutes. Watch our animation; this 5-minute video will give you a great head start on this website. The Symptoms of parathyroid disease (hyperparathyroidism) leading to high blood calcium are listed and discussed. 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 is easy, but many doctors get confused. Blood calcium levels and parathyroid hormone levels will make the diagnosis. If you have high calcium, you almost certainly have a parathyroid tumor. Read this page and then get the CalciumPro app . It is much better at telling you if you have a parathyroid problem than your doctor is. Buy in Apple Store . Buy in Android Store 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 parathyroid surgery... so you can see what may be in your neck. Very informative. This is a must read page . Low Vitamin D Levels. 96% of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (a parathyroid tumor) have low vitamin D. This is the body protecting itself, but is commonly misunderstood by endocrinologists. If your doctor said you have low vitamin D which is causing your high calcium, read this page because that is impossible. Diagnosing HyperparathyroidismADVANCED. This is our best page on how to diagnose parathyroid disease. Read this after you have read our first page on the diagnosis of hyperparathyroidism . This is an important page you should take to your doctors. Watch the parathyroid surgery video before you read this page. Section 3: Surgery for Parathyroid Tumors and Hyperparathyroidism: Old ’Big’ Parathyroid Surgery and New ’Mini’ Parathyroid Surgery. The Standard Parathyroid Surgery . The treatment for high calcium (hyperparathyroidism) is surgery to remove the parathyroid tumor. The ’standard’ operation is still performed today like it was in 1925, but nobody should have this big operation. If your surgeon doesn’t perform at least two parathyroid operations per week, then go somewhere else. Minimally Invasive Parathyroid Surgery. Minimally Invasive Parathyroid Surgery . Mini-parathyroid surgery (MIRP) was invented in 1993. Virtually all parathyroid patients should have mini-surgeryBut you must find an experienced parathyroid surgeon. Do not let your doctor tell you that you can’t get mini parathyroid surgery because your scan is negative. Everybody can have mini surgery . And all four glands should be analyzed. Be careful of surgeons who are going to check only one parathyroid gland. The MIRP Procedure . The MIRP Mini-Parathyroid Operation cures over 99% of patients using only minimal...