Hypertensive crisis induced by eating in a patient with pheochromocytoma

Catecholamines have an important effect on the gastrointestinal tract. Patients with pheochromocytomas frequently have gastrointestinal complaints. We report a 13-year-old girl with a 250-g intra-abdominal pheochromocytoma who presented with symptoms of excessive catecholamines release and hypertensive crisis that was provoked by eating. The patient's pheochromocytoma was so large that it was palpable and compressing the greater curvature of the stomach.