Successful unilateral thoracoscopy for bilateral ectopic mediastinal parathyroidectomy

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.