Surgical resection of a virilizing adrenal mass with extensive tumor thrombus

Adrenocortical carcinoma with tumor thrombus and concomitant testosterone production is a rare entity. We describe a case of a 53-year-old woman with a testosterone producing left-sided adrenocortical carcinoma with tumor extending to the right atrium and tumor embolus to the right pulmonary artery. To our knowledge, there exist no such reported cases in the medical literature. We describe our use of techniques derived from transplant surgery for the removal of this mass. Critical components for successful resection included early renal artery ligation, hepatic mobilization off the inferior vena cava, and minimization of cardiopulmonary bypass time thus eliminating the need for deep hypothermic circulatory arrest.