Treatment of choice for pheochromocytoma
Surgical removal of the tumor is the treatment of choice and is curative in >90% of cases. Small, single tumors are now most often removed laparoscopically, but large tumors usually require the traditional midline incision, careful inspection of the paravertebral ganglionic chain, and longer recuperation. Medical therapy is used mainly for perioperative management. Chronic medical therapy in the form of α- and (sometimes) β-blockade or inhibition of catecholamine synthesis with α-methyl-paratyrosine can be used for patients with inoperable, recurrent, multicentric, or malignant pheochromocytoma.