The phlebographic diagnosis of phaeochromocytomas

The diagnosis of phaeochromocytomas is based on the clinical features and on the hormone findings in the peripheral blood. Localisation, however, depends on radiological methods. Pneumoperitoneum was abandoned, because of its low accuracy, in favour of arteriography; lately, suprarenal phlebography has been available for the localisation of phaeochromocytomas. Our experience in nine patients with operatively confirmed phaeochromocytomas is described. Together with venous sampling from the caval system and the suprarenal veins for catecholamine estimations, it was possible to localise all tumours correctly. One tumour lying in the sympathetic chain in the thorax was correctly localised by hormone estimation. Our experience suggests that suprarenal phlebography represents a reliable method for localising phaeochromocytomas which carries a low risk and is to be preferred to arteriography.