[Anesthesia for patients with pheochromocytoma. Our own results and a review]

Phaeochromocytoma is a rare, autonomous catecholamine secreting tumour of the sympatho-adrenergic system. Due to the continuous or phasic secretion of catecholamines from the tumour, patients present with hypertensive crisis, episodic or sustained hypertension or arrhythmia. Excessive intraoperative hypertension unable to control by usual methods should be considered to be a phaeochromocytoma. Surgical removal of identified lesions should be performed under controlled conditions and after sufficient preparation of the patient. Preoperative alpha-adrenergic blockade with prazosin and phentolamine allows an increase in intravascular volume and affords some protection against excessive intraoperative hypertension. The use of beta-adrenergic antagonists is only recommended in patients with arrhythmia (especially tachycardia) and after induction of alpha-adrenergic blockade. For operation of phaeochromocytoma, modified neuroleptic anaesthesia is a useful anaesthetic technique. Intraoperative hypertension is controlled with sodium nitroprusside and phentolamine. Intravascular volume is substituted under CVP or PAP control, and epinephrine or norepinephrine are used if necessary. During the postoperative period, hypotension or hypertension or left ventricular failure may occur. In an own study, 9 patients with phaeochromocytoma were investigated, 7 patients with other operations of the adrenal glands served as controls. Despite specific preoperative preparation and intraoperative use of antihypertensive drugs, excessive increases in blood pressure could not be avoided in some cases. Extremely high plasma levels of catecholamines up to the factor 1,000 of the normal range were found. Even in controls, considerable increases in blood pressure and catecholamine levels were observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)