Painful cutaneous lesions, renal failure and urgent parathyroidectomy.
We describe two patients with end stage renal failure who presented with painful skin lesions, which rapidly progressed to become necrotic and gangrenous. The diagnosis was calciphylaxis, a rare disorder due to calcification and luminal fibrosis of small and medium sized cutaneous and systemic vessels. Both patients had tertiary hyperparathyroidism. An urgent parathyroidectomy was performed on one patient, which relieved her symptoms; the other required local surgery but refused parathyroidectomy and died.
Department of Medicine, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, UK. naveedy@tinyonline.co.uk
Naveed
N
Younis
Robert A
RA
Sells
Anthony
A
Desmond
Timothy
T
Helliwell
Deirdre
D
Guerin
Mahdi
M
Jibani
Jiten
J
Vora
D002115:Calciphylaxis / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006961:Hyperparathyroidism / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016105:Parathyroidectomy; D012883:Skin Ulcer / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*