Abstract

Parathyroid adenomas are the commonest cause of primary hyperparathyroidism. About 10 percent of the parathyroid adenomas are ectopic in location. Cystic degeneration in parathyroid adenomas is seen in 4% of the cases and represents 1-2% of the cases with primary hyperparathyroidism. Hence, the combination of parathyroid cysts, which are both ectopic and functional is extremely rare. Functional parathyroid cysts can be either silent or associated with a wide range of clinical symptoms. We present two cases of functional mediastinal parathyroid cysts, one with and the other without clinical manifestations.