Pheochromocytoma “the great masquerader” presenting as hypertensive retinopathy: A case report

Abstract

At first glance, the ophthalmologist might seem to be invading a medical territory, not in their domain, when they write of Pheochromocytoma, but this is not true. Pheochromocytoma is an uncommon tumor that develops in chromaffin cells of the paraganglia or adrenal medulla which can give rise to malignant hypertension (systolic >200 mg Hg & diastolic >140). Pheochromocytoma-induced hypertension may present with many physical symptoms and signs, although sometimes the ocular features are the only clues that are present. Clinical suspicion of secondary hypertension should always be considered when fundus examination shows hypertensive retinopathy changes in a younger age group (18 years in our case). The patient, in our case, developed hypertensive retinopathy with macular star development due to Pheochromocytoma. It stresses the significance of a thorough search for a secondary cause of hypertension in young patients.