Tertiary hyperparathyroidism: a review

Tertiary hyperparathyroidism (HPT III) occurs when an excess of parathyroid hormone (PTH) is secreted by parathyroid glands, usually after longstanding secondary hyperparathyroidism. Some authorities reserve the term for secondary hyperparathyroidism that persists after successful renal transplantation. Long-standing chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with several metabolic disturbances that lead to increased secretion of PTH, including hyperphosphatemia, calcit-riol deficiency, and hypocalcaemia. Hyperphosphatemia has a direct stimulatory effect on the parathyroid gland cell resulting in nodular hyperplasia and increased PTH secretion. Prolonged hypocalcaemia also causes parathyroid chief cell hyperplasia and excess PTH. Af-ter correction of the primary disorder CKD by renal transplant, the hypertrophied parathyroid tissue fails to resolute, enlarge over and continues to oversecrete PTH, despite serum calcium levels that are within the reference range or even elevated. They also may become resistant to calcimimetic treatment. The main indication for treatment is persistent hypercalcemia and/or an increased PTH, and the primary treatment is surgery. Three procedures are commonly performed: total parathyroidectomy with or without autotransplantation, subtotal parathyroidectomy, and limited parathyroidectomy. It is important to remove superior parts of thymus as well. The most appropriate surgical procedure, whether it be total, subtotal, or anything less than subtotal including "limited" or "focused" parathyroidectomies, continues to be unclear and controversial. Surgical complications are rare, and para-thyroidectomy appears to be a safe and feasible treatment option for HPT III.