Diagnosis and surgical management of adrenal gland pheochromocytoma

Purpose:To study and evaluate the diagnosis and treatment strategy of pheochromocytoma.Methods:109 Cases of pheochromocytoma diagnosed and treated between 1976 and 2001 were reviewed and studied:There were 104 cases with high blood catecholamine. Urinary Vanilly1 mandelic acid (VMA) was the best marker with a positive sensitivity rate of 90.8 %. The accurate localization rate of the tumors was 89.0 % for B ultrasohography, 92.7 % for CT and 100% for MRI.Results:Radical adrenalectomy was carried out for 106 cases and there were 3 cases with laparoscopic adrenalectomy. Operative therapy was successful in all cases. The diagnosis of all cases was confirmed by pathologic studies.102 cases ( 93.6 %) were benign and other 7 cases ( 6.4 % ) were malignant.Conclusions:The procedures of the qualitative and locative diagnosis of adrenal gland pheochromocytoma included clinical manifestations, urinary VMA assessment and imaging investigation. Surgical management was the only means for cure and preoperative preparation was extremely important. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy was safe and effective for managing adrenal gland pheochromocytoma.