Parathyroid lipoadenoma: a rare cause of primary hyperparathyroidism. Case report

Three patients with lipoadenoma of the parathyroid gland are reported. This rare tumour was encountered at surgical exploration for primary hyperparathyroidism in two patients and as an incidental finding at autopsy in the third patient. In the 2 operated patients the lipoadenoma was the cause of primary hyperparathyroidism and they were both cured by extirpation of the tumour. In the autopsy case there was no evidence of excessive parathyroid hormonal activity. The dominating stromal component of all three cases was abundant adult adipose tissue interspersed with epithelial trabeculae of mainly chief cells.