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UW Health SMPH

Sestamibi Nuclear Scan Research Publications

Want more current information about your disease? Here are some recently published research articles available through PubMed.gov done by your UW Hospital surgeons about parathyroid surgery:

 

UW Publication

Summary

Lal A, Chen H. The Negative Sestamibi Scan: Is a Minimally Invasive Parathyroidectomy Still Possible? Annals of Surgical Oncology. 2007; 14:2362-2366

Ideally, a nuclear scan can help localize the single hyperfunctioning parathyroid gland prior to surgery, so that the patient can have a more direct, minimally invasive operation.  However, sometimes these scans come back negative.  This study shows that 67% of patients with a negative scan still end up having a single problematic parathyroid.  This means that most patients with hyperparathyroid symptoms who have a negative scan are still candidates for the minimally invasive surgery.  The surgeon can use other techniques instead to help localize the parathyroid.