Hyperparathyroid Disease Often Overlooked
Minimally Invasive Operation Can Remove Diseased Gland
POSTED: Tuesday, May 8, 2007
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- More than 100,000 Americans suffer from hyperparathyroid disease, a common but often overlooked condition that can affect everything from bone density to sex drive.The parathyroid, which is actually a grouping of four small glands, helps to regulate blood calcium levels.Dr. Mack Harrell, an endocrinologist with Imperial Point Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, said women are three times more likely to suffer from hyperparathyroid disease as men. "Since we started doing automated checks on calcium levels, we realize it's a lot more common than we thought," said Harrell.Treating hyperparathyroid disease used to require a fairly involved surgical procedure, but new tools and techniques allow doctors to remove the diseased gland through a minimally invasive operation."About 90 percent of the time it's just one gland that's malfunctioning, so we can go in and quickly remove that one gland," said Harrell. "Patients can go home the next day," he said.Many people who have hyperparathyroid disease may have no symptoms while others will experience a number of problems including confusion, muscle cramps, loss of energy, trouble sleeping, decreased sex drive, frequent headaches, thinning hair and depression.Because the disease affects blood calcium levels, patients have to limit their consumption of calcium-rich foods and beverages."Hyperparathyroid disease can be very limiting," said Harrell. "But with proper diagnosis and treatment, patients can easily alleviate the symptoms and risks," he said.For more information and to reach Harrell, call 954-267-8883.
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