PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Alwaheeb, S
AU  - Rambaldini, G
AU  - Boerner, S
AU  - Coiré, C
AU  - Fiser, J
AU  - Asa, S L
TI  - Worrisome histologic alterations following fine-needle aspiration of the parathyroid
AID  - 10.1136/jcp.2005.029017
DP  - 2006 Oct 01
TA  - Journal of Clinical Pathology
PG  - 1094--1096
VI  - 59
IP  - 10
4099  - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/59/10/1094.short
4100  - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/59/10/1094.full
SO  - J Clin Pathol2006 Oct 01; 59
AB  - Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is a procedure that is increasingly being performed. Artefacts occurring after FNA are reported to complicate the histological analysis of the tissue, mainly in the thyroid; WHAFFT (worrisome histologic alterations following FNA of thyroid) is well documented in the literature. The case of a male patient with hypercalcaemia who was subsequently found to have a nodule in the thyroid gland is reported here. He underwent FNA, followed by a total thyroidectomy and parathyroidectomy. The abnormality in the parathyroid gland showed worrisome histological changes that were suspicious of a malignant lesion, resembling the changes seen in the thyroid gland after FNA. Parathyroid cells were identified by a review of the previous FNA. The concept of WHAFFT, which can mimic the features of malignancy in the parathyroid gland, is therefore introduced.