PAGETS-DISEASE OF THE STERNUM SIMULATING AN ECTOPIC ADENOMA ON PARATHYROID SCINTIGRAPHY

The authors present the case of a patient with recurrent hyperparathyr oidism who was shown on thallium-technetium subtraction scintigraphy, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging to have recurrent parathyro id tissue in the right side of the neck. The thallium scan also showed intense uptake centrally in the chest, mimicking an intrathoracic ade noma. This was subsequently shown on plain films and a radionuclide bo ne scan to be due to Paget's disease of the sternum. This case illustr ates the value of a combined imaging strategy in preventing an unneces sary thoracotomy after a false-positive nuclear medicine scan.