Anaesthesia for phaeochromocytoma removal in a 5‐year‐old boy

Abstract

We describe the case of a 5-year-old boy with phaeochromocytoma of the left adrenal gland, treated surgically by removal of the tumour under general anaesthesia. Phaeochromocytoma is a particularly rare tumour in children and surgical excision is the definitive treatment. We discuss the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the case, the diagnostic approach, the preoperative and intraoperative management and the postoperative course.

Anesthesia management with short acting agents for bilateral pheochromocytoma removal in a 12‐year‐old boy

“…Before tumor removal, any stimulus that causes cathecholamine release must be avoided and an adequate depth of anesthesia even before surgery must be established. In our case, regarding hemodynamic fluctuations before surgery, premedication with oral diazepam (5) and higher remifentanil infusion rates during positioning the patient or neuromuscular monitoring might have been more appropriate.…”

Comment on Matsota et al.

“…S ir —As an anaesthetist with practice in the areas of adult neuroendocrine surgery and paediatric oncological surgery I was interested to read the description of anaesthesia for phaeochromocytoma surgery (1) in a 5‐year old. The authors described a spectacular increase in haemodynamic parameters during tumour manipulation which would lead me to believe that the pre‐ and intraoperative catecholamine blockade was inadequate.…”