Anesthetic Management Of A Rare Case Of Extra Adrenal Pheochromocytoma- A Case Report

Abstract

Pheochromocytoma is rare, accounting for less than 0.1 % of hypertensive population. Extra-adrenal pheochromocytomas are rarer still. These gangliomas develop in the paraganglion chromaffin cells of the sympathetic nervous system. They account for 10% of all pheochromocytomas in adults and 30-40% in children. These tumors are usually larger than their adrenal counterpart. The most common site of extra-adrenal pheochromocytomas is the para adrenal area, but they also occur at the aortic bifurcation, chest, inferior mesenteric and iliac arteries, bladder, heart and brain. In this report, we describe a 30-year-old male with an extra adrenal pheochromocytoma in the right para aortic region. Clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment are similar to adrenal tumors. Few medical conditions pose such a severe but unpredictable threat to the patient’s life and the perioperative management of such patients poses a significant challenge to the anesthesiologist.