[The curative therapy of primary hyperparathyroidism by percutaneous ethanol injections].

METHODS

An 86-year-old woman was admitted because of acute nonspecific upper abdominal symptoms and vomiting. She was occasionally disoriented, generally slower in movement and reaction, apathetic and mainly bed-ridden. She was a known insulin-dependent diabetic who had sustained a posterior wall myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular accident and had undergone a cholecystectomy. On physical examination her upper abdomen was painful to pressure, blood pressure was 180/95 mm Hg, but there were no other findings.

METHODS

Sonography demonstrated bile-duct dilatation, confirmed at endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, and a prepapillary choledochal concrement of about 10 mm. Sonography also revealed an echo-poor tumour of the right caudal parathyroid. The calcium concentration was raised to 2.94-3.16 mmol/l and the parathormone level was also increased (99.5 pmol/l, normal 1.2-5.7 pmol/l), as were amylase (375.6 U/l) and lipase (1038-5394 U/l).

METHODS

After papillotomy and extraction of the choledochal concrement the acute biliary pancreatitis quickly improved. Operation on the parathyroid tumour was not undertaken because of the patient's various illnesses. Instead, 95% alcohol was instilled, 3.5 and 4.5 ml respectively, into the tumour, under sonographic control in two sessions, 3 days apart. Her clinical condition clearly improved and serum calcium became normal and the parathormone level fell significantly.

CONCLUSIONS

Percutaneous ethanol injection of a parathyroid tumour can be a curative and sparing alternative to operation in patients with hyperparathyroidism seemed too ill for surgery.