Surgical excision of an adrenal myelolipoma

Myelolipoma of the adrenal gland is a benign tumour composed of fat and haematopoietic cells. It is usually asymptomatic and discovered as an incidental finding at autopsy. Only twenty-five patients have previously been described in whom an adrenal myelolipoma had been removed surgically. The patient reported in this paper had a myelolipoma in his left adrenal gland. The tumour was diagnosed by intravenous pyelography, ultrasonography, arteriography and computed tomography. No endocrine symptoms were present and hormonal analyses were normal. Surgical excision of the tumour was performed with an uneventful postoperative course. The diagnosis should be considered in patients with a suprarenal mass manifesting features that are atypical of other tumours of this region.