Key surgery performed in Turkish hospital for first time

ISTANBUL

A tissue transplant operation from a woman with an overactive parathyroid gland to a mother without parathyroid glands has been completed successfully, a doctor has confirmed.

The operation, performed for the first time among first-degree relatives, is expected to enter the medical literature, said Professor Erhan Ayşan, the endocrine surgeon who performed the transplant in a Turkish hospital.

Ayşan also stressed that he is proud to realize this first and that the successful result achieved can set a precedent and that satisfactory results can be obtained in similar cases.

Noting that the parathyroid glands, located just behind the thyroid gland, were the smallest organs of the human body, the expert said that due to the small size of the parathyroid glands, they can be overlooked and damaged in thyroid surgeries, and as a result, patients may experience lifelong calcium deficiency problems.

The operation took place upon the demands of 54-year-old Hülya Ataoğlu, who suffered from parathyroid hormone deficiency due to damage to her parathyroid glands after thyroid surgery 15 years ago, and her 27-year-old daughter Belemir, who stated that she suffered from a similar ailment.

A parathyroid gland found to be overworked in Belemir Ataoğlu was transplanted to her mother with an operation performed for the first time in the world, which led the way to the two regaining their health.

Expressing that she no longer experiences the numbness in her body that she used to do before the operation, Hülya Ataoğlu said that both her parathyroid hormone and calcium levels increased and finally she stopped all the medications she was using.

“It’s like I was born again,” Ataoğlu said, following the surgery.