Percutaneous autotransplantation of parathyroid tissue into the forearm muscles

We developed a simple and easy nonsurgical percutaneous method for autografting parathyroid tissue into the forearm muscles. This method was applied to 30 patients suffering from secondary hyperparathyroidism who were then refractory to medical treatment. The operative results were then compared with 16 patients who underwent treatment using Wells' method. The graft “take”, judged by a significant intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) ratio (>1.5) between grafted and nongrafted arm vein blood, was 82% for the percutaneous method group and 75% for the Wells' method group, respectively. The percentage of recurrent hyperparathyroidism necessitating a subtotal removal of the autograft was equal in the two groups. No complications were noted for either method. Wells' method can thus be replaced by this simple and easy nonoperative method.