[Postoperative hypoglycemia after excision of pheochromocytoma. A case]

A case of hypoglycaemia consecutive to excision of a bilateral phaeochromocytoma in a 33-year old patient with Sipple's syndrome is reported. The severity of the hypoglycaemia (1.3 mmol/l) accounted for the brain lesions which ultimately resulted in the patient's death. Eight cases of hypoglycaemia occurring in similar circumstances have been published. The condition is due to the massive release of insulin during the hours that follow removal of the tumour. This results in the persistence of the peri-operative hyperglycaemic stimulation and in the suppression of the previous inhibition of insulin secretion due to alpha-adrenergic stimulation of catecholamines in the beta-cells of Langerhans' islets.