[Tertiary hyperparathyroidism after renal transplantation in man. Treatment by parathyroidectomy and auto-graft. Eight cases (author's transl)].

In a series of 76 functional renal transplantations we noted 8 cases of hyperparthyroidism occurring in periods ranging from 2 months to 4 years. Hypercalcaemia was the most constant manifestation. PTH was raised in the 7 subjects in whom it was measured. Eight patients underwent total parathyroidectomy followed in 7 of them by auto-graft of a fragment of parathyroid into a forearm muscle according to the technique of Wells. The operation was followed in all cases by normalisation in blood calcium levels after the 1st month. Serum PTH levels also returned to normal apart from in one case where renal function was impaired because of rejection of the renal graft. Comparative estimations of PTH in venous blood from the side of the auto-graft and the opposite side showed that the parathyroid graft was functioning.