That there could be such a long delay in hypocalcaemia occurring is news to me. I knew of days, maybe weeks, but fifteen years? No - I had no idea.
Let this be a useful piece of information for all who have had thyroid surgery. Hopefully not needed, but here if it is.
J Clin Diagn Res. 2017 Feb;11(2):OD07-OD09. doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2017/23609.9260. Epub 2017 Feb 1.
Delayed Post-Surgical Hypoparathyroidism: The Forgotten Chameleon!
Kamath SD1, Rao BS2.
Author information
1 Consultant, Department of Medicine, Tata Main Hospital , Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India .
2 Senior Specialist and Head of Department, Department of Medicine, Tata Main Hospital , Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India .
Abstract
Delayed hypoparathyroidism, due to accidental gland removal or ischemia of parathyroids can present many years after thyroidectomy and symptoms may be non-specific. This condition, if not diagnosed timely, may prove fatal and have serious consequences. Hence, clinicians must have a high index of suspicion to treat this condition. All patients with a history of previous thyroid surgery, who come with vague symptoms like fatigue, muscle aches should undergo estimation of serum calcium, phosphorus and Parathyroid Hormone (PTH) due to the lack of any pathognomonic features of hypoparathyroidism. We report a rare case of delayed post-surgical hypoparathyroidism who became symptomatic 15 years after thyroid surgery and remained so for another 10 years before the final diagnosis was established.
KEYWORDS:
Hypocalcaemia; Late; Parathyroid glands; Surgery; Tetany
PMID: 28384917
PMCID: PMC5376817
DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2017/23609.9260
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/283...
(Can't help wondering about the phrasing: may prove fatal and have serious consequences.)