Unique Presentation and Perioperative Management of a Giant Pheochromocytoma

Nicolas Villarraga; Gurunanthan Palani; Michael Risk; Shalamar Sibley

doi:10.1210/jcemcr/luad065

Unique Presentation and Perioperative Management of a Giant Pheochromocytoma

JCEM Case Rep. 2023 Jun 9;1(3):luad065. doi: 10.1210/jcemcr/luad065. eCollection 2023 May.

Authors

Nicolas Villarraga¹, Gurunanthan Palani², Michael Risk³, Shalamar Sibley^{4

2}

Affiliations

¹ University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA.
² Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA.
³ Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA.
⁴ Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN 55417, USA.

Abstract

Pheochromocytomas are neuroendocrine tumors that arise from chromaffin cells in the adrenal medulla. Giant pheochromocytomas commonly measure greater than 7 to 10 cm, and their incidence and presentation is not well known. We present a case of a 62-year-old female with a giant 15.9 cm cystic pheochromocytoma. The patient was medically managed with oral phenoxybenzamine solution dose 4 times greater than average and was treated with a radical left nephrectomy and adrenalectomy. This case offers insight into the clinical presentation of giant pheochromocytomas and the unique challenges they present both medically and surgically.

Keywords: adrenalectomy; giant pheochromocytoma; management; nephrectomy.

Publication types

Case Reports