Parathyroid Surgery

Parathyroid surgery may be required if you have enlarged glands. It is important to discuss all your options with an expert. Call us to book.

Quick Summary

Experienced, multidisciplinary team
Price: up to $500 with adequate Private Health Insurance (self-pay options are available)

The parathyroid glands are four tiny glands in the neck (usually 2 on each side). Para means ‘beside’ or ‘next to’, and they are so named because they are located close to the thyroid gland.

However they perform a completely different function. These tiny glands secrete a hormone called parathyroid hormone (PTH), which helps regulate calcium levels in your blood.

Parathyroid surgery is known medically as a parathyroidectomy and is often searched for as hyperparathyroidism surgery or minimally invasive parathyroidectomy. At LapSurgery Australia, parathyroid operations are performed in Melbourne private hospitals by Mr Andrew Chong, working within our experienced multidisciplinary team.

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Most commonly, removal of one or more of these glands is required because they have grown abnormally and have started to produce an excessive amount of parathyroid hormone. This condition is called Primary Hyperparathyroidism and can lead to excessive levels of calcium in your blood. This in turn can lead to a range of health problems (see below).

Less often, surgery may be required in people with end stage kidney disease, because the glands become enlarged in this condition and produce too much PTH.

Extremely rarely, parathyroid glands are removed because they become cancerous.

Very commonly, you will not notice any symptoms. The problem is often picked up only on a blood test.

When symptoms of hypercalcaemia (too much calcium in your blood) do occur, they can be very vague and include:

Stomach upset, nausea, vomiting, or constipation
Kidney stones and resulting pain or other problems from them
Fatigue, lethargy, confusion, and sometimes depression
Excessive thirst and frequent urination
Bone pain and muscle weakness
Rarely, palpitations and fainting if excessive calcium interferes with your heart function

Because the parathyroid glands are so tiny, sometimes the culprit parathyroid gland can be difficult to locate. For this reason, quite extensive pre-operative testing and scans are required to try to best pinpoint which side the problem is.

At the operation, the surgeon will usually start exploring the side of the neck where the problem gland is most likely to be. As in thyroid surgery, a specialised nerve stimulator is used to identify and protect the important nerve in your neck (recurrent laryngeal nerve).

If an obviously abnormal gland is found, this is removed. Very often, this gland is sent to a pathologist in a lab immediately to confirm that it is parathyroid tissue. Once this is confirmed, the operation is concluded and the wound closed.

In cases where a culprit gland cannot be located on one side, the surgeon will move to the other side to attempt to locate the problem gland there. In very rare situations, the problem gland may not be found on either side. In these rare situations, the operation is concluded and more extensive testing is required.

Most patients stay one night in hospital and go home the next day.

You will get a blood test immediately after surgery and one more the next morning to check your calcium and PTH levels. In situations where blood calcium levels are too low after surgery, a few more days may be required to stabilise these levels before discharge.

These are similar to thyroid surgery, and are very rare, but they can include:

Bleeding, which may require going back to remove blood clots
Wound infection
Damage to nearby structures and nerves, in particular the recurrent laryngeal nerve
Inability to locate the culprit parathyroid gland
Removal of some or all of the thyroid gland if necessary
Long term need for calcium supplementation

Read more about parathyroid surgery here. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/surgery/parathyroidectomy

For most patients with adequate private health insurance, out of pocket costs for parathyroid surgery are up to $500, with health fund cover and any excess varying by fund and level of cover. Self pay options are available for patients without private health insurance, with an estimate provided after your consultation. Full informed financial consent is provided before you commit to surgery, and you can contact us for a written estimate at any time.

Parathyroid Surgery Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about parathyroid surgery

An operation to remove one or more abnormal parathyroid glands, most commonly for primary hyperparathyroidism, where an overgrown gland produces too much parathyroid hormone and pushes blood calcium too high. Where scans clearly localise the culprit gland, it can often be removed through a single small cut on one side of the neck.

Often, yes. Primary hyperparathyroidism is frequently picked up on a blood test before any symptoms appear, but left untreated it can weaken your bones, cause kidney stones and kidney disease, and contribute to neuropsychiatric problems. Your surgeon will weigh the evidence for your case with you.

Most patients stay one night and go home the next day, with blood tests immediately after surgery and the next morning to check calcium and parathyroid hormone levels. If your calcium runs low after surgery, a few more days may be needed to stabilise it before discharge.

The glands are tiny, so extensive scans are done before surgery to pinpoint the likely side. During the operation the removed gland is usually sent straight to a pathologist to confirm it is parathyroid tissue before the wound is closed, and a nerve stimulator protects the important nerve in your neck throughout.

Most of the time, no long term medication is required. Some short term calcium supplementation may be needed in the early period after surgery, and rarely calcium supplementation is needed long term.

For most patients with adequate private health insurance, out of pocket costs are up to $500, with fund cover and any excess varying by fund and level of cover. Self pay options are available. Contact us for a full written estimate after your consultation.

Thyroid and parathyroid operations are performed by Mr Andrew Chong at private hospitals across Melbourne's south east, including Mulgrave, Berwick, Frankston and Wantirna. You can read more about him on our surgeons page, and about the related operation on our thyroid surgery page.

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