Abstract

Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare disease of unknown etiology. This study presents a case of parathyroid carcinoma in a patient with tertiary hyperparathyroidism. Despite a successful kidney transplantation, the intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) level of the patient was elevated consistently and could not be controlled by medical therapy. Due to the development of tertiary hyperparathyroidism with bone pain and osteoporosis, subtotal parathyroidectomy was performed 4 months after the kidney transplantation. Histological evaluation revealed that one of four parathyroid lesions was a parathyroid carcinoma, while the others were diffuse hyperplasia. Postoperative laboratory studies indicated a decreased level of iPTH. A positron emission tomography–computed tomography performed 6 months after the operation revealed no evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis.

Abstract

Currently, due to lack of optimal donors, more marginal organs are transplanted. Therefore, there is a high interest to ameliorate preischemic organ preservation, especially for critical donor organs. In this regard, a new histidine-tryptophane ketoglutarate (HTK-N) solution has been designed and its protective efficacy was compared with the standard preservation solutions—University of Wisconsin solution and standard HTK or Custodiol (Bretschneiders solution). Seventy-two landrace pigs were included into the study, as donors and recipients. The donor kidneys were perfused during explantation with cold University of Wisconsin solution (n = 12), standard HTK (n = 12), or HTK-N solutions (n = 12), kept in the respective preservation solution at 4°C for 30 hours, implanted in the recipient pigs, and reperfused. The pigs survived in daily control for 7 days. The serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen were assessed in pre- and postreperfusion phase on the 3rd day and 7th day posttransplantation. Additionally, tissue samples were taken to analyze the histopathological degree of tubular injury and regeneration before and after reperfusion. The three preservation groups were comparable in age, body weight, and hemodynamic parameters. According to statistical proof, they differed in none of the control parameters. Although the new preservation HTK solution is in several points a well-thought-out modification of the standard HTK solution, its preservation efficacy, at least for kidney preservation in a pig model for 30 hours, seems to be comparable to the current used solutions. A real advantage, however, could be confirmed in clinical settings, where marginal organs may influence the clinical outcome.