Successful parathyroidectomy in primary hyperparathyroidism: a clinical follow-up study of 212 consecutive patients

The long-term clinical courses of 212 "cured" (normocalcemic) patients were analyzed for 1 to 25 years (mean, 6.8 +/- 5.4 years). Preoperatively, 181 patients (85%) were classified as having typical symptoms, 22 patients (11%) as having minimal symptoms, and nine patients (4%) as having no symptoms of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP). Although the formation of urinary calculi was stopped in 91% of patients, deteriorated renal function and hypertension were seen in patients with symptoms (14% and 8%, respectively) and patients with minimal symptoms of PHP (6% and 15%, respectively). Renal function changes and hypertension were unpredictable despite normalization of the hyperactive parathyroid metabolism and had decisive results: 7% of the patients died of uremia or of the consequences of hypertension (stroke). Large, multiple bone lesions healed functionally and were of no prognostic significance. In the majority of patients with symptoms of PHP, gastrointestinal manifestations healed postoperatively, but two patients who had no preoperative gastrointestinal complaints died of acute pancreatitis. Almost all symptoms of the hypercalcemia syndrome disappeared immediately and permanently in patients with symptoms and patients with minimal symptoms of PHP. Neither deterioration of renal function nor elevation of blood pressure were observed postoperatively in "cured" patients who showed no symptoms of PHP preoperatively. Even in these patients, immediate surgical treatment may have avoided the complications of chronic renal failure or hypertension. As soon as organic manifestations, even in mild form, have been established, it seems impossible to predict the course and to prevent an unfavorable clinical outcome.