OBJECTIVES: We present 18 patients with pheochromocytoma in the past 12 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: It is a retrospective observational study evaluating the clinical, biochemical and pathological most important. RESULTS: The mean age was 53.5 years with male predominance and monitoring of five years, being the most frequent incidental findings (29%). Four patients had a familial syndrome hereditary. The tumors were equally distributed with a bilateral case. For the clinical study was made and plasma catecholamines and metanephrines in urine for 24h and subjected to control blood pressure before surgery and beta blockers. Until the introduction of laparoscopic surgery in our department in 2003, the treatment of choice was open surgery. Transabdominal subcostal access was more frequent (47%) and average duration of 207 min. No patients showed metachronous tumors and two patients developed distant metastases to death in short time. CONCLUSIONS: Pheochromocytoma in a threatening disease by cardiovascular disease, which needs to perform an analytical and functional. Surgical treatment, by open or laparoscopic surgery, depending on the characteristics of the tumor and the patient, is satisfactory and comparable results.
OBJECTIVES: We present 18 patients with pheochromocytoma in the past 12 years. MATERIAL AND METHODS: It is a retrospective observational study evaluating the clinical, biochemical and pathological most important. RESULTS: The mean age was 53.5 years with male predominance and monitoring of five years, being the most frequent incidental findings (29%). Four patients had a familial syndrome hereditary. The tumors were equally distributed with a bilateral case. For the clinical study was made and plasma catecholamines and metanephrines in urine for 24h and subjected to control blood pressure before surgery and beta blockers. Until the introduction of laparoscopic surgery in our department in 2003, the treatment of choice was open surgery. Transabdominal subcostal access was more frequent (47%) and average duration of 207 min. No patients showed metachronous tumors and two patients developed distant metastases to death in short time. CONCLUSIONS:Pheochromocytoma in a threatening disease by cardiovascular disease, which needs to perform an analytical and functional. Surgical treatment, by open or laparoscopic surgery, depending on the characteristics of the tumor and the patient, is satisfactory and comparable results.