Parathyroidectomy Case Study

A 60-year-old woman, church secretary, is diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism. Three years ago she started having the following symptoms; two episodes of kidney stones, a fractured wrist and a fractured ankle, and reports of feeling weak when she is walking. Treatment at the time consisted of hydration and diuretics. She has been doing well until now. Ms. Thompson presents to the endocrinologist’s office with a serum calcium was 12.4 mg/dL and the urine calcium is elevated. Today she is being evaluated for a parathyroidectomy. Hyperparathyroidism having too much parathyroid hormone in the bloodstream due to over excretion of the body's parathyroid glands located in the neck. The parathyroid glands secrete parathyroid hormone, which helps maintain a correct balance of calcium in the bloodstream and in tissues that depend on calcium for proper functioning.
There are two types of hyperparathyroidism, primary
The parathyroid glands are responsible for maintaining levels of both calcium and phosphorus in your body by increasing or decreasing the secretion of parathyroid hormone as needed. The body loves to maintain homeostasis, so, for the most part; the body balances the levels out well. When calcium levels in your blood fall too low, your parathyroid glands increase the secretion of PTH to rebalance the levels. PTH raises calcium levels by drawing calcium from your bones and increasing the amount of calcium absorbed from your small intestine. When blood calcium levels are too high, the parathyroid glands decreased the secretion of PTH. However, one or more of these glands can produce too much hormone causing unusually high levels of calcium and low levels of phosphorus in your blood. Calcium aids in the communication of signals in nerve cells, and it is involved in muscle contraction, with the aide of another mineral, phosphorus (Stalberg, 2007).