Functioning lipoadenoma of the parathyroid: case report and literature review

Lipoadenoma of the parathyroid gland is a rare histologic variant of parathyroid adenoma that is usually functional and associated with clinical hyperparathyroidism. We report a case in which a radiolabeled thallium scan failed to demonstrate evidence of an adenoma, presumably because of the tumor's high fat content. The literature concerning this entity is reviewed. To our knowledge there are no other reported cases in which parathyroid scanning was used in diagnostic studies of parathyroid lipoadenoma.