Journal Review in Endocrine Surgery: Parathyroidectomy for Fracture Risk

Primary hyperparathyroidism is an underdiagnosed condition which leads to decreased bone mineral density, fracture, renal disease, among other symptoms that can decrease the quality of a patient’s life. Moreover, once diagnosed, only a small fraction of patients with the diease end up being offered surgery. Whether it is because of misunderstood indications and benefits of surgery, non-localization of disease, or various other reasons, we thought it was worthwhile to review relevant literature.

Hosts: Dr. Becky Sippel is an endowed professor of surgery at Division Chief of endocrine surgery at University of Wisconsin Madison and she is the most recent past president of the AAES. She is an internationally recognized leader in the field of endocrine surgery. She has over 250 publications. She was the PI for a RCT which studies prophylactic central neck dissections which is a widely read and quoted study in endocrine surgery.

Dr. Amanda Doubleday is a fellowship trained endocrine surgeon in private practice with an affiliation to UW Health. Her primary practice is with Waukesha Surgical Specialists in Waukesha WI.

Dr. Simon Holoubek is a fellowship trained endocrine surgeons affiliated with UW Health. He works for UW Health with privileges at UW Madison and UW Northern Illinois. His clinical interests are aggressive variants of thyroid cancer, parathyroid autofluorescence, and nerve monitoring.

Learning Objectives:
1 Understand the natural history of primary hyperparathyroidism and how the disease process can affect bone mineral density.

2 Learn about fracture risk associated with primary hyperparathyroidism.

3 Learn about decreased fracture risk in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism who have parathyroidectomy compared to those who are observed.

References:
1 Rubin MR, Bilezikian JP, McMahon DJ, Jacobs T, Shane E, Siris E, Udesky J, Silverberg SJ. The natural history of primary hyperparathyroidism with or without parathyroid surgery after 15 years. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2008 Sep;93(9):3462-70. doi: 10.1210/jc.2007-1215. Epub 2008 Jun 10. PMID: 18544625; PMCID: PMC2567863. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18544625/
2 Frey S, Gérard M, Guillot P, Wargny M, Bach-Ngohou K, Bigot-Corbel E, Renaud Moreau N, Caillard C, Mirallié E, Cariou B, Blanchard C. Parathyroidectomy Improves Bone Density in Women With Primary Hyperparathyroidism and Preoperative Osteopenia. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2024 May 17;109(6):1494-1504. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgad718. PMID: 38152848. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38152848/
3 VanderWalde LH, Liu IL, Haigh PI. Effect of bone mineral density and parathyroidectomy on fracture risk in primary hyperparathyroidism. World J Surg. 2009 Mar;33(3):406-11. doi: 10.1007/s00268-008-9720-8. PMID: 18763015. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18763015/

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