[Failure of medical treatment with antihypertensive agents in a child with pheochromocytoma. Recovery after surgery].

Anaesthesia for removal of pheochromocytomas requires preoperative preparation of patients so as to normalize blood pressure. During operation, hypovolemia linked with the sudden fall of circulating catecholamines as well as hypertension during handling of the tumor are to be managed. A case of a 11 year child with pheochromocytoma is reported. Once the diagnosis had been established, various attempts to normalize blood pressure failed. Despite a precarious condition, the operation could be performed. During surgery, hypertension occurred and three hypotensive drugs failed to correct it. It ceased after removal of the tumor. The postoperative course was uneventful. The authors discuss the role of the type of catecholamines and their concentration in the failure of antihypertensive medication.