THORACOSCOPIC REMOVAL OF MEDIASTINAL PARATHYROID ADENOMA

Mediastinal parathyroid tissue hyperfunctions in as much as 25% of the patients with primary hyperparathyroidism, and this may be responsibl e for causing conventional operative procedures to fail in as much as one-third of the cases. When lesions prove to not be accessible throug h a cervical incision, or when a mediastinal adenoma is diagnosed befo re cervical procedures, median sternotomy and angiographic ablation ha ve been considered the only options for removal. However, thoracoscopy has theoretic advantages over both. Two patients underwent successful thoracoscopic removal of a hyperfunctioning ectopic mediastinal parat hyroid adenoma and their cases are presented here.