Surgery for primary hyperparathyroidism. Experience with 400 patients during 10 years (1972-1981)

The records of 400 patients operated on for primary hyperparathyroidism during 10 years were reviewed. Seventy-three per cent of the patients were women. The mean age at operation was 58 years. Renal stones was the main indication for surgery in 52 per cent of the men, but only in 17 per cent of the women. Forty-four per cent of the women and 22 per cent of the men had neuromuscular symptoms. Fifteen per cent of the patients were asymptomatic. Hypercalcemia was moderate in most cases with mean S-Ca less than 3.0 mmol/l in 80 per cent. A conservative surgical approach with microscopical identification of one or two glands only was used in 2/3 of the cases. Subtotal parathyroidectomy was performed in less than 10 per cent. Single adenoma was found in 70 per cent, double adenomas in 4 per cent, hyperplasia in 17 per cent and cancer in 1 per cent. The outcome of the operation was normocalcemia in 86 per cent. Seven per cent had persistent hypercalcemia. Seven per cent were hypoparathyroid and had to take calcium or vitamin D to be normocalcemic. The frequency of hypoparathyroidism was highest in the group of patients where all four parathyroid glands had been biopsied during the operation. The results support a conservative surgical strategy with careful bilateral exploration without biopsy of all four glands.