Parathyroid biopsy

Alternative names:

biopsy - parathyroid

What the risks are:

Risks are those of general surgery (reaction to anesthesia, excessive loss of blood, infection). Additional risks specific to this surgery include inability to locate the parathyroid glands (rare), injury to the laryngeal nerve (the nerve to the vocal cords) (extremely rare), hematoma (blood collection under the skin) causing breathing difficulty, and hypocalcemia (low blood calcium) as a response to lack of parathyroid stimulation.

Special considerations:

The parathyroid glands are located near the thyroid gland. Most people have 4, some people have more and some people have fewer. They secrete parathyroid hormone (PTH), which functions primarily in the control of calcium levels.