Pheochromocytoma during Pregnancy with Acute Abdominal Pain–a Case Report and Review of Literature in Korea

Abstract

Pheochromocytoma is rare during pregnancy and the common symptoms and signs are headache, hypertension; therefore, it is often misdiagnosed for preeclampsia. Here is a rare case of pheochromocytoma in the second trimester of pregnancy presenting with acute abdominal pain. After pain relief, she could continue pregnancy with alpha-blocker to control her hypertension without surgery until 35 weeks of gestation. A healthy female neonate was delivered by cesarean section with concurrent retroperitoneal mass excision due to relapsed abdominal pain. Pathological examination confirmed a pheochromocytoma with myxoid change.