Influence of Parathyroidectomy on Sleep Quality in Primary Hyperparathyroidism.

We investigated the impact of parathyroidectomy on sleep quality in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). Thirty consecutive patients with pHPT were enrolled in the study within 1 year. pHPT was diagnosed by typical symptoms accompanied by an elevated level of parathormone. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used for the evaluation of sleep 1 day before and 6 months after parathyroidectomy. The mean total PSQI score was elevated to 6.8 ± 0.6 points before surgery, which was in the pathological cut-off of greater than ≥5, indicating impaired sleep quality. After parathyroidectomy, the total score declined insignificantly, amounting to 5.6 ± 0.4 (p > 0.05). Nevertheless, the number of patients with a score of ≥5 before surgery decreased from 21 (70%) to 16 (53%) after surgery. There also was a significant improvement in sleep latency (p = 0.05) and sleep efficiency (p = 0.02) domains of PSQI. We conclude that 70% of patients with untreated pHPT suffered from sleep disorders that improved after parathyroidectomy. The clinical consequence is that patients with pHPT should be questioned about having sleep disorders, which might influence the decision-making concerning parathyroidectomy. With the relation reversed, patients without pHPT but suffering from sleep disturbance should be tested for pHPT.

Robotic sleeve gastrectomy for morbid obesity: report of a 5 year experience.

BACKGROUND: Robotic bariatric procedures are nowadays in the surgeon's arsenal for the treatment of morbid obesity. With proven efficacy and advantages in gastric bypass procedures, we attempted to employ robotics and study the results in the other major bariatric procedure, sleeve gastrectomy. METHODS: We used the da Vinci S® system to perform 19 robotic sleeve gastrectomies (RSGs) and reviewed the 5-year results as far as excess body weight loss is concerned, and amelioration of obesity-related comorbidities. RESULTS: Mean percentage of excess body weight loss (%EWL) was 64.4%, 67.1%, 61.7%, 63.1%, 64.8% for the first, second, third, fourth and fifth year, respectively. Neither of our two patients with diabetes mellitus (0%) or hypertension (0%) showed remission, while all six of our patients (100%) showed remission of their sleep apnoea after 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Robotic sleeve gastrectomy is an effective procedure as far as initial excess weight loss is concerned and this loss is well maintained 5 years post-operatively, a finding similar to relevant data after conventional laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A novel mutation of the calcium-sensing receptor gene in a German subject with familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia and primary hyperparathyroidism.

OBJECTIVE: The coexistence of familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH) and primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is extremely rare. Genetic evidence has demonstrated a causal relationship between FHH and the presence of inactivating mutations in the calcium-sensing receptor gene. METHOD: We herein report a 60-year-old German patient who was referred for hypercalcemia and increased PTH levels found incidentally during normal routine blood tests. RESULTS: The patient underwent surgical exploration and the diagnosis of PHPT was histologically confirmed. One week later, the follow-up blood tests revealed recurrent hypercalcemia, and the possibility of FHH was reconsidered. Genetic analysis was performed and revealed a novel heterozygous CaSR single missense mutation (Arg551Gly) within the extracellular CaSR domain. CONCLUSION: We report a novel heterozygous missense inactivating mutation within the extracellular CaSR domain in a German subject with FHH and histologically proven PHPT.

A pathological fracture and a solitary mass in the right clavicle: an unusual first presentation of HCC and the role of immunohistochemistry.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive malignant tumor that occurs throughout the world. Μetastases from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were generally considered to be rare in the past, because the carcinoma had an aggressive clinical course. In our era, has been reported that extra-hepatic metastases occur in 13.5%-41.7% of HCC patients and this is considered as terminal-stage cancer. The prognosis for patients at this stage continues to be poor due to limited effective treatment. The common sites of extrahepatic metastases in patients with HCC are the lungs, regional lymph nodes, kidney, bone marrow and adrenals. We present here an extremely infrequent case of a patient, without known liver disease, in which the presenting symptom was a pathological-in retrospect-fracture of his right clavicle which wasn't properly evaluated, until he presented a bulky mass in the region 6 months later. For our patient, the added diagnostic difficulty alongside the unknown liver disease, has been that the clavicular metastases was the first presentation of any metastatic disease, rather than the more common sites of HCC spread to adjacent lung or lymph nodes.