title: [Diagnosis and surgical treatment of extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma].
abstract: From 1980 until 1991 10 patients were operated upon a paraganglioma: 5 patients with an encapsulated solitary tumor, two with infiltrating tumors and 3 with metastatic disease. The diagnosis of a catecholamine-producing tumor was most reliably made by norepinephrine analysis in urine and serum. The localization of the tumor was diagnosed in 9 of 10 cases by sonography and CT-scan. In 9 patients the tumor was excised completely, 4 times by extended resections. Whereas 4 out of 5 patients with an encapsulated solitary paraganglioma live to date without recurrence, all 3 patients suffering from metastatic disease had recurrent disease within one year postoperatively. A differentiated operative therapy of paragangliomas based on a clinical characterization is proposed: Encapsulated paragangliomas should always be excised. For solitary infiltrating tumors an extended resection may be necessary. This seems not to be justified for multiple infiltrating or metastasizing paragangliomas. Thus, only a reduction in size may be adequate for these tumors.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Abdominal- und Transplantationschirurgie, Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover.
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Hiller
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Scheumann
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dralle
mesh_terms: D000008:Abdominal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D000310:Adrenal Gland Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D001807:Blood Vessel Prosthesis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010235:Paraganglioma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D010673:Pheochromocytoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*