HYPERTENSIVE RETINOPATHY ASSOCIATED WITH ADRENAL MEDULLARY TUMOR (PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA)

Abstract

A review of the available literature reveals that about 35 cases of pheochromocytoma have been reported to date. Although definite ocular changes are associated with the presence of these chromaffin cell tumors, they have received little attention. Many reports failed to mention the results of ophthalmic examination ; some, however, described briefly the concomitant pathologic process observed in the eye. To my knowledge, the case of adrenal medullary tumor to be reported is the first in which photographic records of the fundi were made after operation, illustrating the gradual disappearance of retinal changes. When the patient was seen three and one-half years after removal of the tumor, the retinas were normal in appearance. Chromaffin tumors (pheochromocytoma, chromaffinoma, paraganglioma) arise from the chromaffin tissue of the embryonic sympathetic nervous system (Tassman¹) and may be located in any of the paraganglions. The adrenal medulla is composed of chromaffin cell tissue, and hyperplasia