Therapy of suspected intrathoracic parathyroid adenomas -: Experiences using open transthoracic approach and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery

Background and aims: Ectopic mediastinal parathyroid adenoma as a cause of primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) can normally be resected from conventional collar incision. In rare cases with adenomas deeper in the chest, a transthoracic approach is necessary. Patients/methods: We report our experience of 19 patients with suspected mediastinal parathyroid adenomas from a total of 1035 patients with pHPT who were operated on between 1986 and 2000 using an open approach (sternotomy or thoracotomy) or video-assisted mediastinal or thoracoscopic surgery (VAMS/VATS). Results: Fourteen patients underwent an open approach with a success rate of 71% (10 of 14). Four patients remained hypercalcaemic. There were four complications in three patients: three permanent recurrent nerve palsies and one chylus fistula, requiring further surgery. VATS was successful in three of four patients with conversion to sternal splitting because of a false-negative frozen section in one patient. Another patient had parathyroid adenoma retrosternally which could not be resected by means of VAMS and had to be excised using a transsternal approach. There were no complications of minimal invasive procedures. All five patients were normo-calcaemic after the operation. Conclusion: Ectopic parathyroid adenomas not resectable by means of a collar incision are rare causes of pHPT and comprise 1.25% of all patients with pHPT in our series. For these patients, VATS revealed an alternative to conventional open procedures. In questionable cases, however, the collar incision should precede the VATS procedure.