[Primary hyperparathyroidism].

Primary hyperparathyroidism Abstract. Primary hyperparathyroidism is a common endocrine disease that comes along with a disruption of the calcium homeostasis and is accompanied by a variety of downstream disorders. These are often overlooked as patients present with a multitude of unspecific symptoms or may even be asymptomatic. The diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism can be made with the determination of calcium and parathyroid hormone levels, including the measurement of calcium in the 24-hours urine. The operation is the only therapy to cure primary hyperparathyroidism. To successfully conduct focused parathyroidectomy an accompanying visual imaging methodology is of great value and improves the operation success rate. Furthermore, an intraoperative parathyroid hormone monitoring is applied. A bilateral neck exploration technique is applicable in selected cases. The endocrine surgical expertise is pivotal in particular for re-operations, hereditary primary hyperparathyroidism and carcinomas. If surgery is not possible, a medication-based therapy is applied. This medical therapy requests a continuous therapy progress monitoring. In conclusion, to treat primary hyperparathyroidism an interdisciplinary team approach with endocrinologists and endocrine surgeons shows the best results.