OBJECTIVE Plasma metanephrines (PMN) are highly sensitive for diagnosis of pheochromocytoma, but the natural history of PMN before pheochromocytoma diagnosis has not been previously described. The aim of the study was to compare the progression of PMN before pheochromocytoma diagnosis to matched healthy and essential hypertension disease controls. DESIGN A retrospective case-control Departmen...

BACKGROUND The impact of blood sampling in sitting vs supine positions on measurements of plasma metanephrines for diagnosis of pheochromocytoma is unknown. METHODS We compared plasma concentrations of free metanephrines in samples from patients with primary hypertension obtained after supine rest with those obtained in the sitting position without preceding rest. We also assessed the effects...

Diagnosis and management of pheochromocytoma, once dangerous and uncertain, have been dramatically altered in recent years by advances in imaging, assays, and pharmaceuticals. During the past ten years we have treated 18 patients who had pheochromocytoma. Biochemical diagnosis was made in all patients by measurement of 24-hour urinary total catecholamine excretion or by epinephrine-norepinephri...

Splenic metastasis is generally not a common clinical event. However, metastasis to the spleen from adrenal pheochromocytoma is extremely rare and has not been reported in literature. This report presents a case of a 58 year-old male patient who developed spleen-only metastases in July 2007. The patient had a previous history of left epinephroectomy for adrenal pheochromocytoma in January 2003....

BACKGROUND It is generally accepted that pheochromocytoma is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. This is however not based on studies with an appropriate control group of patients with essential hypertension. AIM OF THE STUDY We examined whether patients with pheochromocytoma have an excess cardiovascular morbidity as compared to hypertensive patients. METHODS In a retrospecti...

Pheochromocytoma, a neuroendocrine tumor of the adrenal medulla, arising from chromaffin cells, usually presents with the clinical triad of paroxysmal headache, profuse sweating and palpitations, associated with labile hypertension. Here, we present the case of an adult male with an unusual manifestation of pheochromocytoma in the form of acute pain abdomen with nausea and abdominal guarding, m...

In this case report, a thoracic extradural metastatic pheochromocytoma without bony invasion, is presented. The disease which has been identified with its symptoms, bio-chemical features, radiological appearance, histological diagnosis has been discussed in comparison with malignant pheochromocytoma metastases in the literature. The origin of this tumor is the adrenal glands. Our review of the ...

We report on a 43-year-old, asymptomatic female who presented with incidental finding of left adrenal mass. MRI gave concerns for possible pheochromocytoma but markers for pheochromocytoma were not elevated as expected. 24-hour urine dopamine levels (6988 μg/day) were significantly elevated. The patient successfully underwent robotic assisted radical left adrenalectomy and was diagnosed with a ...

Pheochromocytomas, although a rare cause of hypertension, are dangerous tumors that require consideration among large numbers of patients. The subsequent low prevalence of the tumor among those tested and inadequacies of commonly used biochemical tests make excluding or confirming the tumor an often difficult and time consuming task. Recognition that catecholamines are metabolized to free metan...

Ectopic pheochromocytoma (EP) is considered as pheochromocytoma located at extra-adrenal site. Surgical removal is believed to be the best choice for treatment of pheochromocytoma. We present a series EP resected by laparoscopic approach (LEP) and confirm its feasibility. We retrospectively reviewed clinical data of 4 patients underwent laparoscopic resection of LEP (periaortocaval EP, n = 1; r...