Diagnosing metastatic pheochromocytoma: Trick lies in attention to details!
Aditya SharmaShiraz Akif Mohammed ZiauddinKapil ChaudharyKirti GuptaVenkatesh DhanshekharPublished in: BMJ case reports (2021)
Functional metastatic pheochromocytoma (PCC) is a very rare tumour and cytoreductive adrenalectomy with oligo metastatectomy is recommended in cases of low tumour burden. We report a rare case of metastatic PCC with an incidentally detected suspicious nodule seen on the anterior surface of the right lobe of the liver. The adrenal and the lesion were excised and sent for histopathology which was reported as a metastasis from PCC. This lesion was not visualised preoperatively on DOTA-PET-CT, highlighting the importance of keeping a low threshold for suspicion of metastasis in abnormal lesions and taking a biopsy during surgery. Inspection of the liver and rest of the abdomen for any abnormality should be done even when operating for any apparently benign lesions.