The effect of parathyroidectomy in patients with normocalcemic calcium stones

With the entity of normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism increasingly prevalent in the literature the treatment of parathyroidectomy has been advocated. A total of 21 patients with recurrent calcium-containing calculi and normocalcemia underwent parathyroidectomy. Of the 21 patients 1 had an adenoma, 9 had hyperplasia and 11 had normal glands. Of the 19 patients followed stones ceased forming in 32 per cent, while in 42 per cent calculi continued to form. Of 5 patients with multiple unassessable calculi 1 ceased passing stones. We conclude that the entity of normocalcemic hyperparathyroidism is rare and repeated serum calcium determinations to identify true hypercalcemic hyperparathyroidism are necessary.