HYPERCALCEMIC CRISIS IN A PATIENT WITH A HUGE MEDIASTINAL ATYPICAL PARATHYROID ADENOMA

Objective: To describe a patient who presented with hypercalcemic crisis and severe hyperparathyroidism who had urgent surgery. She was found to have a huge mediastinal atypical parathyroid adenoma (APA). We discuss our case, the difficulty discriminating an APA from parathyroid cancer, and the tools that help differentiate these conditions. Methods: We present the clinical manifestations, laboratory results, radiologic and surgical findings, and management in a patient with hyperparathyroid crisis. Discussion follows. Results: We report a case of a 39-year-old woman who presented with symptoms of severe hypercalcemia. Her intact parathyroid hormone level was found to be markedly elevated, consistent with primary hyperparathyroidism. Imaging revealed an anterior mediastinal mass, suggestive of possible ectopic parathyroid tissue. Urgent surgery and subsequent pathologic study of the excised mass revealed a supernumerary 37.5-g parathyroid gland within the mediastinum surrounded by a rim of thymic tissue. ...