title: Parathyroid hyperplasia and carcinoma within one gland.
abstract: A 47-year-old Scottish woman vacationing in the United States presented with a serum calcium level greater than 20 mg/dl and a parathyroid hormone level 16 times greater than normal after a one-week history of severe vomiting and unrelenting abdominal pain. Surgical exploration of the thymus revealed the very rare association of a large (7 by 4 by 0.8 cm) parathyroid carcinoma adjacent to apparently normal parathyroid tissue, separated by a thin fibrous band. Two other hyperplastic and one normal parathyroid glands were also identified. Postoperatively, the patient became hypocalcemic and, for the past nine months, has received maintenance 1-alpha-hydroxycholecalciferol therapy (1 microgram per day) with normal calcium and barely detectable parathyroid hormone levels.
mesh_terms: D002277:Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006887:Hydroxycholecalciferols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006934:Hypercalcemia / Q000209:etiology; D006965:Hyperplasia; D008875:Middle Aged; D010280:Parathyroid Glands / Q000473:pathology*; D010282:Parathyroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D011183:Postoperative Complications
chemical_list: D006887:Hydroxycholecalciferols