Global Leaders in Parathyroid Care: Renowned Tampa General Surgeons Highlight Parathyroid Awareness Month With Visit From Barcelona Surgeon
When facing a serious medical diagnosis, you want the best possible treatment and surgical care, whether it’s close to home or a continent away.
Each year, thousands of patients from around the world choose Tampa General Hospital (TGH) for successful treatment of hundreds of conditions, including parathyroid disease, an endocrine disorder that affects the parathyroid glands in the neck.
July marks Parathyroid Awareness Month, a time to shed light on this underdiagnosed disease that most commonly affects individuals over 50.
What is Parathyroid Disease?
The most common disorder of the parathyroid gland is hyperparathyroidism, which is overactivity of one or more parathyroid glands, usually caused by a benign parathyroid tumor that produces too much parathyroid hormone. Although almost always non-cancerous, such tumors can lead to chronic fatigue, insomnia, memory loss, bone pain, kidney stones, cardiac arrhythmias, osteoporosis and shortened life expectancy if left untreated.
Early detection is vital for parathyroid disease, which can be effectively treated with a parathyroidectomy. This minimally invasive outpatient procedure is simple and quickly performed by expert surgeons like those at Tampa General.
Top Parathyroid Surgeons Worldwide
The TGH Parathyroid & Thyroid Institute is led by Dr. Douglas Politz and Dr. José Lopez, two of the most experienced parathyroid surgeons operating in the world today. Combining over 30 years of expertise, the renowned surgeons have performed more than 17,000 parathyroidectomies, examined more than 35,000 parathyroid glands and co-authored the largest study of parathyroid patients in medical history (over 20,000 participants).
Dr. Lopez and Dr. Politz have helped perfect advanced techniques of minimally invasive parathyroidectomy that are used to quickly identify the four parathyroid glands in surgery. It is a skill the two surgeons have used to train the five most experienced doctors who followed them in the field of parathyroid surgery. As a result of their expertise and high rate of success, Tampa General continues to be a global destination for expert care of parathyroid disease.
“Growing up with two young cousins with cerebral palsy, I always knew I wanted to be a physician – someone who could truly make a transformative difference in the lives of patients in need,” Dr. Lopez said. “My work at Tampa General has enabled me to treat thousands of patients with parathyroid disease, while providing much-needed training to other surgeons in the field today, impacting better health outcomes for thousands of patients worldwide.”
Barcelona Surgeon Visits Institute
Tampa General recently welcomed Dr. Constanza Ballesta, head of the Bariatric and Endocrine Surgery Unit at Dexeus University Hospital in Barcelona, to the TGH Parathyroid & Thyroid Institute. Over the past decade, her work has primarily focused on metabolic and endocrine surgery, including procedures for the thyroid, parathyroid and treatment of obesity. Her pursuit of knowledge and expertise in parathyroid surgery led her to contact Dr. Politz through social media and arrange travel from Spain to Tampa in July 2025 to directly observe Dr. Politz and Dr. Lopez in performing several days of surgeries at the Institute.
“The TGH Parathyroid & Thyroid Institute is the premier destination for parathyroid surgery,” Dr. Ballesta said. “I was incredibly grateful to collaborate with Dr. Politz, Dr. Lopez and an outstanding team of nurses and medical staff and am confident that this experience will significantly improve my surgical skills and medical understanding, ultimately leading to a better experience and better outcomes for my patients.”
After seeing the astounding efficiency of this practice, Dr. Ballesta plans to bring this new knowledge and expertise to her patients at Dexeus University Hospital.
“Dr. Lopez and I have dedicated our careers to parathyroid disease, and we are thrilled to broaden our impact in the care and treatment of this often-misdiagnosed condition in the medical community,” Dr. Politz said. “By sharing our surgical expertise and knowledge with surgeons like Dr. Ballesta, we aim to improve the lives of those with parathyroid disease around the world today. And she has graciously invited us to come to Barcelona to educate more colleagues at her home institution.”
As a leading academic health system, Tampa General treats patients from all over the world through our Global Medicine Program. Learn more about the program here.