Below has been my experience with my surgery performed on August 25th, 2021.
All I knew at that time was my doctor was concerned after reviewing my annual physical results (blood) that he wanted to have some more drawn to check my PTH levels. Please get your annual physical!!
First, THANKS u/favajava, u/BeneficialBean and u/Mollylee19 for your posts. I am sure there are a few others that I haven't read yet that are heros to this channel! Your posts were helpful during this stressful time.
Here is my (Male, 57) history of Calcium Levels since 2015:
(Normal Calcium: 8.6 - 10.3 mg/dL according to my medical group's application)
2015 : 9.6
2017: 10.5
2018: 10.2
2019: 10.4
2020: 10.6
2021 (June): 10.9
PTH level from that blood test back in June was 114 (normal 12-88 pg/mL). I was referred to an Ear/Nose/Throat (ENT) specialist and at the end of July, had a Sestamibi scan (radioactive material). A possible adenoma seen, but very little material captured.
Beginning of August, ENT referred me to an Endocrinologist who did a biopsy. Biopsy registered around 30,000 in needle, whatever that means. ENT recommended removal of the parathyroid.
Aug 25th,2021 went in for surgery. I was pretty nervous, never having been under general anesthesia. ENT performed the parathyroidectomy ending up taking 2 of them on my left side due to some observation and consultation. The surgery apparently took 3 hours (to me, it was no time ). From the Operative Report:
"dissection in the left inferior quadrant suggestive of where the parathyroid adenoma was located on sestamibi scan. Stuck to the inferior lobe of the parathyroid gland there was a mass that appeared to be parathyroid tissue was carefully dissected and sent for frozen section. It turned as hypercellular parathyroid tissue; however, the PTH returned is 204. This was definitely not an adenoma and dissection continued identifying the left recurrent laryngeal nerve was found to be medial to this mass identified as the superior parathyroid gland. Recurrent laryngeal nerve was carefully dissected to preserve it and the NIM monitor tested the neck and it was working properly. The fascial attachments around the parathyroid gland were carefully dissected allowing for removal of the large 1.2 cm parathyroid tissue. This is sent for frozen section which was consistent with parathyroid adenoma. Intraoperative PTH returned as 30. Left superior parathyroid gland was tightly adhered to a thyroid nodule which had a separate plane from the gland and this was dissected as well and sent as a frozen section returned as a follicular lesion."
So, the great news was PTH went down to 30. A blood test done the next day yielded a 8.7 Calcium level! Note the reference to the NIM monitor in the report. I had not heard of this before, but I did feel it later as a bruise on my sternum for a few days. This is a nerve monitoring system somehow attached to the vocal cord nerve to warn the surgeon of proximity to that critical nerve. Vocal cord damage is a risk, so I was glad to hear this was employed.
Plan to take at least 3-5 days off of work, but perhaps a week or so. Throat was sore from intubation for about 2 days. My wound appears to be 2-3" long (still early), maybe 1/2" below my adam's apple. I had a bandage over some sterile strips. You can take the bandage off, but leave the sterile strips in place until you meet with your doctor again (within a week). I did receive a prescription for oxycodone but only took 1 the first night. After that, switched between 500 mg of acetaminophen and 800 mg of ibuprofen every 4 hours for a few days.
I found the parathyroid website (www.parathyroid.com) very helpful, but mostly after the surgery. Of course, r/hyperparathyroidism is great, too!
When people ask about my bandages, I tell them about my hormonal imbalance caused by a parathyroid issue. "The surgeon took the 2 on my left side, so I am alright now" ... see what I did there? All right? ok, never mind.
I will be interested in the changes that may happen based on the symptoms that maybe I had, but didn't recognize. I do feel a bit different ... more positive and not so worried about stuff. We'll see if my family notices a difference in a few weeks, months or whenever.
Below has been my experience with my surgery performed on August 25th, 2021.All I knew at that time was my doctor was concerned after reviewing my annual physical results (blood) that he wanted to have some more drawn to check my PTH levels. Please get your annual physical!!First, THANKS u/favajava, u/BeneficialBean and u/Mollylee19 for your posts. I am sure there are a few others that I haven't read yet that are heros to this channel! Your posts were helpful during this stressful time.Here is my (Male, 57) history of Calcium Levels since 2015:(Normal Calcium: 8.6 - 10.3 mg/dL according to my medical group's application)2015 : 9.62017: 10.52018: 10.22019: 10.42020: 10.62021 (June): 10.9PTH level from that blood test back in June was 114 (normal 12-88 pg/mL). I was referred to an Ear/Nose/Throat (ENT) specialist and at the end of July, had a Sestamibi scan (radioactive material). A possible adenoma seen, but very little material captured.Beginning of August, ENT referred me to an Endocrinologist who did a biopsy. Biopsy registered around 30,000 in needle, whatever that means. ENT recommended removal of the parathyroid.Aug 25th,2021 went in for surgery. I was pretty nervous, never having been under general anesthesia. ENT performed the parathyroidectomy ending up taking 2 of them on my left side due to some observation and consultation. The surgery apparently took 3 hours (to me, it was no time ). From the Operative Report:"dissection in the left inferior quadrant suggestive of where the parathyroid adenoma was located on sestamibi scan. Stuck to the inferior lobe of the parathyroid gland there was a mass that appeared to be parathyroid tissue was carefully dissected and sent for frozen section. It turned as hypercellular parathyroid tissue; however, the PTH returned is 204. This was definitely not an adenoma and dissection continued identifying the left recurrent laryngeal nerve was found to be medial to this mass identified as the superior parathyroid gland. Recurrent laryngeal nerve was carefully dissected to preserve it and the NIM monitor tested the neck and it was working properly. The fascial attachments around the parathyroid gland were carefully dissected allowing for removal of the large 1.2 cm parathyroid tissue. This is sent for frozen section which was consistent with parathyroid adenoma. Intraoperative PTH returned as 30. Left superior parathyroid gland was tightly adhered to a thyroid nodule which had a separate plane from the gland and this was dissected as well and sent as a frozen section returned as a follicular lesion."So, the great news was PTH went down to 30. A blood test done the next day yielded a 8.7 Calcium level! Note the reference to the NIM monitor in the report. I had not heard of this before, but I did feel it later as a bruise on my sternum for a few days. This is a nerve monitoring system somehow attached to the vocal cord nerve to warn the surgeon of proximity to that critical nerve. Vocal cord damage is a risk, so I was glad to hear this was employed.Plan to take at least 3-5 days off of work, but perhaps a week or so. Throat was sore from intubation for about 2 days. My wound appears to be 2-3" long (still early), maybe 1/2" below my adam's apple. I had a bandage over some sterile strips. You can take the bandage off, but leave the sterile strips in place until you meet with your doctor again (within a week). I did receive a prescription for oxycodone but only took 1 the first night. After that, switched between 500 mg of acetaminophen and 800 mg of ibuprofen every 4 hours for a few days.I found the parathyroid website (www.parathyroid.com) very helpful, but mostly after the surgery. Of course, r/hyperparathyroidism is great, too!When people ask about my bandages, I tell them about my hormonal imbalance caused by a parathyroid issue. "The surgeon took the 2 on my left side, so I am alright now" ... see what I did there? All right? ok, never mind.I will be interested in the changes that may happen based on the symptoms that maybe I had, but didn't recognize. I do feel a bit different ... more positive and not so worried about stuff. We'll see if my family notices a difference in a few weeks, months or whenever. https://ift.tt/eA8V8J https://ift.tt/3t1ocVV
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