[The curative therapy of primary hyperparathyroidism by percutaneous ethanol injections]

An 86-year-old woman was admitted because of acute nonspecific upper abdominal symptoms and vomiting. She was occasionally disoriented, generally slower in movement and reaction, apathetic and mainly bed-ridden. She was a known insulin-dependent diabetic who had sustained a posterior wall myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular accident and had undergone a cholecystectomy. On physical examination her upper abdomen was painful to pressure, blood pressure was 180/95 mm Hg, but there were no other findings.

Sonography demonstrated bile-duct dilatation, confirmed at endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, and a prepapillary choledochal concrement of about 10 mm. Sonography also revealed an echo-poor tumour of the right caudal parathyroid. The calcium concentration was raised to 2.94-3.16 mmol/l and the parathormone level was also increased (99.5 pmol/l, normal 1.2-5.7 pmol/l), as were amylase (375.6 U/l) and lipase (1038-5394 U/l).

After papillotomy and extraction of the choledochal concrement the acute biliary pancreatitis quickly improved. Operation on the parathyroid tumour was not undertaken because of the patient's various illnesses. Instead, 95% alcohol was instilled, 3.5 and 4.5 ml respectively, into the tumour, under sonographic control in two sessions, 3 days apart. Her clinical condition clearly improved and serum calcium became normal and the parathormone level fell significantly.

Percutaneous ethanol injection of a parathyroid tumour can be a curative and sparing alternative to operation in patients with hyperparathyroidism seemed too ill for surgery.