482 SURGERY
THE PRESENCE OF JUXTA- RENAL TUMOR in a patient
with hypertension should raise the possibility of a
pheochromocytoma. Appropriate α-blockade, β-
blockade and volume re-expansion should be
accomplished before surgical removal of pheo-
chromocytomas.
CASE REPORT
A 49-year-old woman who underwent renal trans-
plantation 3 years before admission was found to have
an asymptomatic palpable right upper quadrant abdom-
inal mass during a routine examination. Her medical
history was significant for systemic lupus erythematosus
with lupus nephritis and end-stage renal disease, hyper-
tension for 3 years (which was controlled with 2 medica-
tions), and borderline diabetes mellitus. She took
cyclosporine, azathioprine, and prednisone for
immunosuppression. She had no family history of hyper-
tension or endocrine tumors.
An abdominal ultrasound and computed tomogra-
phy scan (Fig 1) both revealed a complex 15-cm cystic
mass with septations and thick irregular walls in the right
lobe of the liver, consistent with a biliary cystadenoma or
biliary cystadenocarcinoma. There were no signs or
symptoms to suggest a hepatic abscess. Laboratory data
ruled out amoeba, and serology ruled out Echin ococcu s.
A formal right hepatic lobectomy was performed.
The 15 × 12 × 12-cm cystic mass (Fig 2) was fused to
the infrahepatic inferior vena cava, necessitating
removal of a small piece of the front wall of the infra-
hepatic inferior vena cava with the cystic tumor. The
right native kidney was densely adherent to the mass.
The right adrenal gland was not identified but was
thought to be within the hypervascular tissue removed
with the specimen.
During the procedure, the patient initially became
hypertensive and was treated with labetalol while the cys-
tic mass and the right hepatic lobe were being manipu-
lated. After ligation of the short hepatic veins, the patient
became hemodynamically unstable, with episodes of
Pheochromocytoma presenting as a giant
cystic tumor of the liver
Justin S. Wu, MD, Shubhada N. Ahya, MD, Mark D. Reploeg, BS, Gary G. Singer, MD, Daniel C.
Brennan, MD, Todd K. Howard, MD, and Jeffrey A. Lowell, MD, St Louis, Mo
From the Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Surgery and Medicine (Renal Division),
St Louis, Mo
Accepted for publication October 16, 1999.
Presented at the American College of Surgeons, Missouri
Chapter, Lake of the Ozarks, MO, June 18, 1999.
Reprint requests: Jeffrey A. Lowell, MD, Associate Professor of
Surgery and Pediatrics, Washington University School of
Medicine, 6107 Queeny Tower, 1 Barnes Hospital Plaza, St
Louis, MO 63110-1093.
Surgery 2000;128:482-4.
Copyright © 2000 by Mosby, Inc.
0039-6060/ 2000/ $12.00 + 0 11/ 60/ 104113
Fig 1. Abdominal computed tomographic scan suggests a
large right hepatic cystic mass.
In this section we will feature outstanding photographs of clinical materials. These will be select-
ed for their educational value, message, or possibly rarity. The images will be accompanied by brief case
reports (limit 2 typed pages, 4 references). Our readers are invited to submit items for consideration.