The parathyroid glands are four glands located behind the thyroid gland in a person's neck.
These glands are responsible for producing the parathyroid hormone (PTH) which helps regulate calcium levels in the bloodstream.
Parathyroid hormone works together with another hormone called Calcitonin to regulate your body's calcium level and maintain healthy bones.
Primary hyperparthyroidism is commonly caused by one or more of the parathyroid glands forming a tumor that secretes excessive PHT.
Preoperative parathyroid imaging provides an important role in the evaluation of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.
Finding the diseased tumor or tumors before surgery allows a surgeon to make a smaller incision without the need to do a traditional neck exploration.
Common Parathyroid Imaging Scans The Sestamibi scan is the preferred test to find an abnormal parathyroid gland.
Sestamibi is a small protein that is labeled with the radiopharmaceutical technetium-99m.
Tc99m.
Sestamibi is a very safe and mild radioactive agent that is injected and then preferably absorbed by the abnormal parathyroid gland.
The sestamibi scan procedure usually takes less than three hours, and does not produce any allergies or adverse reactions.
Other Parathyroid Imaging Techniques Ultrasound is a relatively inexpensive and non-invasive test that does not require radiation.
Ultrasound of the thyroid and parathyroid glands is used preoperatively to rule out thyroid nodules that may need to be evaluated prior to parathyroid surgery.
It is not particularly accurate in finding the actual diseased gland.
A high-resolution CT scan is used to help find a parathyroid tumor when a parathyroid scan and ultrasound are unsuccessful A CT scan is quicker and less expensive than an MRI.
Since the introduction of Sestamibi scans, CT scans are not performed as frequently today.
An MRI is reserved for cases of where a Sestamibi scan and high-resolution parathyroid ultrasound did not find the problem.
SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography) scanning is a 3-D method of Parathyroid Sestamibi Scan.
With this method 3-dimensional images of the parathyroid can be taken after Technetium-99m Sestamibi is injected.
This method is slightly more accurate than a standard scan.
Identifying the specific diseased parathyroid gland before the operation help determine exactly where the surgeon needs to operate.
Almost all parathyroid disease patients have only one bad parathyroid glan.
So rather than using a traditional operation technique that requires a large neck incision to locate and examine the four parathyroid glands, the minimally invasive surgical technique simply removes the one bad gland and leave the others alone.
These glands are responsible for producing the parathyroid hormone (PTH) which helps regulate calcium levels in the bloodstream.
Parathyroid hormone works together with another hormone called Calcitonin to regulate your body's calcium level and maintain healthy bones.
Primary hyperparthyroidism is commonly caused by one or more of the parathyroid glands forming a tumor that secretes excessive PHT.
Preoperative parathyroid imaging provides an important role in the evaluation of patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.
Finding the diseased tumor or tumors before surgery allows a surgeon to make a smaller incision without the need to do a traditional neck exploration.
Common Parathyroid Imaging Scans The Sestamibi scan is the preferred test to find an abnormal parathyroid gland.
Sestamibi is a small protein that is labeled with the radiopharmaceutical technetium-99m.
Tc99m.
Sestamibi is a very safe and mild radioactive agent that is injected and then preferably absorbed by the abnormal parathyroid gland.
The sestamibi scan procedure usually takes less than three hours, and does not produce any allergies or adverse reactions.
Other Parathyroid Imaging Techniques Ultrasound is a relatively inexpensive and non-invasive test that does not require radiation.
Ultrasound of the thyroid and parathyroid glands is used preoperatively to rule out thyroid nodules that may need to be evaluated prior to parathyroid surgery.
It is not particularly accurate in finding the actual diseased gland.
A high-resolution CT scan is used to help find a parathyroid tumor when a parathyroid scan and ultrasound are unsuccessful A CT scan is quicker and less expensive than an MRI.
Since the introduction of Sestamibi scans, CT scans are not performed as frequently today.
An MRI is reserved for cases of where a Sestamibi scan and high-resolution parathyroid ultrasound did not find the problem.
SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography) scanning is a 3-D method of Parathyroid Sestamibi Scan.
With this method 3-dimensional images of the parathyroid can be taken after Technetium-99m Sestamibi is injected.
This method is slightly more accurate than a standard scan.
Identifying the specific diseased parathyroid gland before the operation help determine exactly where the surgeon needs to operate.
Almost all parathyroid disease patients have only one bad parathyroid glan.
So rather than using a traditional operation technique that requires a large neck incision to locate and examine the four parathyroid glands, the minimally invasive surgical technique simply removes the one bad gland and leave the others alone.