[Tumors of chromaffin tissue (symptoms, diagnosis, surgical treatment)]

Medical histories of 167 patients with tumors of chromaffin tissue were analyzed. Pheochromocytoma was diagnosed in 124 (74.2%) patients, pheochromoblastoma--in 32 (19.2%), extraadrenal tumor--in 11 (6.6%): paravertebral (4), between aorta and vena cava inferior (2), behind the tail of the pancreas (1), at lower pole of the kidney (2), in Zukerkandl's organ (1), in the urinary bladder (1). Complex examination (hormonal profile, US, CT, MRT) was carried out in all the patients, in difficult cases in 71 (42.5%) patients angiography was performed, and in 7 (4.2%)--scintigraphy. The device examination provided accurate diagnosis in all the cases. In the majority of patients (72) clinical picture of the disease was characterized by a typical crisis course. There were no clinical symptoms in patients with "silent" pheochromocytoma, tumor was revealed occasionally in all the cases. One hundred and sixty-four patients were operated. Total lethality was 3.6%. Long-term results were analyzed in 137 patients. Radical removal of pheochromocytoma led to stable normalization of arterial pressure in 73.2% patients. Non-invasive methods (polyposition US with colored doppler, CT, MRT) are methods of choice for topic diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. Sensitivity of US with colored doppler reached 94.3%.