[Pheochromocytoma in an elderly patient: report of a case]

This is a case report of a pheochromocytoma which developed in a 67-year-old man. The patient presented himself with a productive cough and orthopnea, both of which were subsequently proved to be due to hypertensive heart failure. The diagnosis of a pheochromocytoma originating from the left adrenal gland was established endocrinologically and roentgenologically. Transperitoneal adrenalectomy was undertaken, and a tumor weighing 300 g was obtained. Histopathologically, the tumor was composed of two elements: cells with profuse cytoplasma having chromaffin-positive granules, and other cells consisting of spindle cells with mitosis. Surgical exploration could not identify another tumor or metastasis, and his blood pressure returned to normal, with normal catecholamine levels, after surgery. This is the first reported case of an elderly person with a pheochromocytoma complicated by congestive heart failure and renal insufficiency preoperatively; however, it was controlled well, and he underwent surgery successfully. This case constitutes the 64th report on a pheochromocytoma in persons over 60 years of age in the Japanese literature.