Severe pancreatitis after parathyroidectomy

Cope showed in 1957 that pancreatitis may he the presenting symptom in hype rparathyroidism. Since then, the literature has reported a coincidence of p rimary hyperparathyroidism and pancreatitis between 1% and 19%, but the tru e relationship has not been fully established. When severe pancreatitis fol lows parathyroidectomy, a condition familiar to parathyroid surgeons, repor ts are mostly anecdotal and by many authors considered to be coincidental. We present the case history of a 58-year-old man with a longstanding histor y of untreated primary hyperpararthyroidism who developed severe pancreatit is immediately after removal of a 400-mg parathyroid adenoma. He was the fi rst in a series of 108 operated patients to develop this complication. His preoperative levels of parathormone and serum calcium were the highest in o ur material. We believe that pancreatitis after parathyroidectomy is a real but rare complication that might be predicted by preoperative high values of serum calcium and parathormone.