Hypercalcemia following bone surgery in a patient with stable pulmonary sarcoidosis

A 50-year-old carpenter with stable pulmonary sarcoidosis for nine years underwent uneventful right total hip replacement. Four months later he developed nausea, renal failure, and hypercalcemia. The hypercalcemia and uremia promptly subsided with corticosteroid therapy and no other etiology except sarcoidosis could be established to explain the hypercalcemia. Hypercalcemia did not recur following discontinuation of corticosteroid therapy. These events suggest trauma to bone can precipitate hypercalcemia in patients with stable sarcoidosis, and serum calcium levels should be monitored for three-six months following trauma to bone from surgery or accidents in these patients.