Bilateral pheochromocytoma during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND

Pheochromocytoma is a rare disease of the chromaffin cells that secrete catecholamines. It may occur during pregnancy. Bilateral pheochromocytoma in pregnancy is even rarer.

CASE

A 26-year-old woman, gravida 2, para 0-0-1-0, 18 weeks' pregnancy, was initially seen with elevated blood pressure (170/100 mmHg) and mild headache. The cause of hypertension was conventionally investigated and bilateral pheochromocytoma was finally searched for and found. Bilateral adrenalectomy was undertaken at 23 weeks' gestation and Cesarean section was performed at 31 weeks' gestation due to intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and compromised fetal well-being. The maternal outcome was uneventful and the baby was physiologically complicated only by neonatal jaundice.

CONCLUSION

Pheochromocytoma should be searched for in the conventionally differential diagnosis in hypertension during pregnancy, especially in the young. Early diagnosis and proper management with medical treatment followed by surgical removal of the tumor usually result in good maternal and fetal outcomes.