In the News

Improved Procedure Helps Patients with Kidney Stones and other Ailments

A new procedure at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen is helping patients with kidney stones, osteoporosis and other conditions through an improved surgery to remove malfunctioning glands in the body.

The new parathyroid test at Valley Baptist-Harlingen allows surgeons to remove “hyperactive” glands easier, with smaller incisions and a quicker recovery time for the patient. The new procedure is also more accurate and can be performed in a shorter time period, which reduces complications from the surgery.

Patients with recurring kidney stones or osteoporosis may wish to ask their doctor if they should be tested for an overactive parathyroid gland. Parathyroid glands are small, pea-sized glands located in the neck, on either side of the windpipe. The purpose of the glands is to produce PTH, a hormone that helps regulate calcium within the body. However, if the gland produces too much of the hormone, excessive levels of calcium may build up in the bloodstream.

Excess calcium in the blood can lead to the development of painful kidney stones. While many people with hyperparathyroidism don’t have any noticeable symptoms, some may experience fatigue or muscle weakness. Efforts may be made to control these conditions medically. But patients with a hyperactive gland require surgery to remove the gland.

A routine blood test can show if any of the four parathyroid glands are causing problems in the body. The problem gland is then removed in a surgery that can last one to four hours.

Under the new procedure at Valley Baptist, physicians such as Dr. Tan Nguyen and Dr. Ashraf Hilmy are able to operate through an incision that's only an inch long – compared to the two-and-a-half inch incision which was required under the “old way” of performing this procedure.

Dr. Nguyen said the new procedure allows physicians to “zero in” on the offending gland and accurately verify that the problem gland has in fact been removed while the patient is still in the operating room. In the past, physicians weren’t able to confirm that the offending gland had been removed until several days after the surgery. Under the old procedure, some patients had to undergo surgery a second time.