Insulinoma in a pregnant woman.

The case of a 37-year-old primigravida suffering from severe hypoglycemia due to insulinoma is reported. Diagnosis was established on clinical grounds by assessment of inappropriate insulin release. Laparotomy was performed by the 12th gestational week. A wide distal pancreatectomy was carried out, and histopathologic study proved the existence of multiple islet cell adenomatosis. Glycemic levels and insulin secretion returned to normal immediately after surgery. The course of pregnancy was unhampered, judged by clinical criteria and by serial estimations of human chorionic somatomammotropin levels before and after removal of the insulin-producing tumor. A normal female infant was delivered at term, and no histopatholgic changes were detected in the placenta. After 1 year, clinical and analytical evaluation of both mother and child was normal.