In the surgical management of parathyroid hormone (PTH) secreting tumors, intra-operative determination of PTH is becoming useful. It assists in determining the completeness of removal of the PTH producing lesion. Preliminary studies indicate that patients who are monitored intra-operatively have a lesser need for subsequent surgical followup.
Reference: Irwin GL, Deriso BS. A new practical intraoperative PTH assay. Am J. Surg.
168:466-468, 1994.