[The course of parathyroid hormone following an operation for hyperparathyroidism]

After the operation of hyperparathyroidism not only the level of calcium but also the postoperative course of the parathormone is a very informative parameter. In contrast to the serum calcium there is a very delayed normalisation of the values of parathormone in single cases of primary hyperparathyroidism. In cases of recurrent primary hyperparathyroidism the value of parathormone increases much earlier than the value of serum calcium and before the patient has any complaints. So the parathormone enables the recurrent or persistening hyperparathyroidism to be early recognized or differentiated respectively. In the course of the operative therapy in secondary hyperparathyroidism the recrudescence of the level of parathormone points to a successful replantation of the epithelial bodies. In general increased postoperative values are not to be equated with the recurrence of the disease.