title: Successful unilateral thoracoscopy for bilateral ectopic mediastinal parathyroidectomy.
abstract: Ectopic parathyroid glands are frequently located in the thymus and may become hyperplasic in patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism. When medical management fails, surgical removal is required, using either a traditional open sternotomy approach or video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). We were able to excise large, bilateral, mediastinal parathyroid glands using only left VATS. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of the use of unilateral thoracoscopic subtotal thymectomy for the excision of bilateral ectopic mediastinal parathyroid glands.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Pathology, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy. famafausto@yahoo.it
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fama'
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Linard
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gioffre'-Florio
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Metois
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002828:Choristoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006962:Hyperparathyroidism, Secondary / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D008477:Mediastinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D010280:Parathyroid Glands; D016105:Parathyroidectomy / Q000379:methods*; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted; D013934:Thymectomy / Q000379:methods*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000601:surgery*; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome