2002 Volume 35 Issue 4 Pages 455-459
A 56-year-old woman with an adrenal tumor reported diarrhea, body weight loss, and facial flush. She was found by abdominal computed tomographic study at a nearby clinic to have hypopotassemia and an adrenal mass near the pancreas tail and was referred to our hospital. On admission, WDHA syndrome was suspected because of watery diarrhea, hypopotassemia, facial flush, and glucose intolerance. Arteriography revealed a hypervascular tumor in the left upper abdomen and selective blood sampling of the left adrenal vein revealed a remarkably high level of catecholamines and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), so we diagnosed a VIP-producing pheochromocytoma. The tumor, resected by left adrenalectomy, consisted of VIP-producing ganglioneuroma and pheochromocytoma by histological diagnosis. Symptoms improved dramatically after the surgery.
