Giant parathyroid adenoma: a case report

J Med Case Rep. 2022 Apr 13;16(1):150. doi: 10.1186/s13256-022-03401-y.

Abstract

Background: Giant parathyroid adenoma is a type of parathyroid adenoma weighing > 3.5 g and having a size of more than 2 cm.

Case presentation: This report describes giant primary parathyroid adenoma with reference to the literature. We report the case of a 48-year-old Persian man referred to the clinic with knee and lower back pain. He had a history of mitral valve replacement and several episodes of bilateral nephrolithiasis. After a thorough assessment, a neck mass with a possible thyroid origin was detected, but further assessment showed it was of parathyroid origin. The resected mass was 9 × 6× 4 cm and weighed 122 g, and histopathology showed a giant parathyroid adenoma.

Conclusion: Giant parathyroid adenomas that weigh more than 110 g and are larger than 8 cm can lead to significant hypercalcemia. Despite giant parathyroid adenomas and high parathyroid hormone levels, a calcium crisis may not always occur in these patients, and the masses may be initially misdiagnosed as a thyroid mass.

Keywords: Bone pain; Giant parathyroid adenoma; Hypercalcemia; Parathormone.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adenoma* / diagnostic imaging
  • Adenoma* / surgery
  • Humans
  • Hypercalcemia* / diagnosis
  • Hypercalcemia* / etiology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Parathyroid Hormone
  • Parathyroid Neoplasms* / diagnosis
  • Parathyroid Neoplasms* / diagnostic imaging
  • Thyroid Gland / pathology

Substances

  • Parathyroid Hormone