Parathyroidectomy is curative in primary hyperparathyroidism, but elderly patients are often denied this treatment owing to concerns over operative risks and doubts over efficacy of the intervention in improving symptoms. This view is changing, however, as evidence accumulates of the efficacy and safety of the procedure in the aged.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Stechman, M. J., Weisters, M., Gleeson, F. V., Sadler, G. P. & Mihai, R. Parathyroidectomy is safe and improves symptoms in elderly patients with PHPT. Clin. Endocrinol. (Oxf.) doi:10.1111/j.1365–22652009.03540.x
Silverberg, S. J., Lewiecki, E. M., Mosekilde, L., Peacock, M. & Rubin, M. R. Presentation of asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism: proceedings of the third international workshop. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 94, 351–365 (2009).
Udelsman, R., Pasieka, J. L., Sturgeon, C., Young, J. E. M. & Clark, O. H. Surgery for asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism: proceedings of the third international workshop. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 94, 366–372 (2009).
Rubin, M. R. et al. The natural history of primary hyperparathyroidism with or without parathyroid surgery after 15 years. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 93, 3462–3470 (2008).
Bilezikian, J. P. et al. Summary statement from a workshop on asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism: a perspective for the 21st century. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 87, 5353–5361 (2002).
Bilezikian, J. P. et al. Guidelines for the management of asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism: summary statement from the third international workshop. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 94, 335–339 (2009).
Pasieka, J. L. et al. Patient-based surgical outcome tool demonstrating alleviation of symptoms following parathroidectomy in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. World J. Surg. 26, 942–949 (2002).
Chen, H., Parkerson, S. & Udelsman, R. Parathyroidectomy in the elderly: do the benefits outweigh the risks? World J. Surg. 22, 531–536 (1998).
Politz, D. & Norman, J. Hyperparathyroidism in patients over 80: clinical characteristics and their ability to undergo outpatient parathyroidectomy. Thyroid 17, 333–339 (2007).
Bachar, G. et al. Comparison of perioperative management and outcome of parathyroidectomy between older and younger patients. Head Neck 1415–1421 (2008).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The author declares no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hamdy, N. Is parathyroidectomy safe and beneficial in the elderly?. Nat Rev Endocrinol 5, 422–423 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2009.142
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2009.142
This article is cited by
-
Two-year changes of biochemical profiles and bone mineral density after percutaneous ultrasound-guided microwave ablation for primary hyperparathyroidism
Endocrine (2021)
-
Persistent symptomatic improvement in the majority of patients undergoing parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism
Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery (2010)
