[Morphology of the adrenal gland in primary hyperaldosteronism]

Between 1964 and 1980 25 patients (16 women and 9 men) underwent unilateral adrenalectomy for primary hyperaldosteronism at the Zurich University Hospital Department of Urology. In 17 cases (68%) review of the histological slides revealed adenoma, in 3 cases (12%) so-called idiopathic hyperplasia, and in one patient (4%) adrenal carcinoma. The histological features of these 21 cases were in keeping with the postoperative changes in blood pressure. However, in 4 patients (16%) the alterations of adrenal tissue could not be either correlated with the subsequent clinical course or satisfactorily classified without electron-microscopic and biochemical examination.