Adrenal intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia: A case report and literature review

A 65-year-old Taiwanese man was admitted owing to the incidental finding of a left adrenal mass during a survey of gastrointestinal tract bleeding. Retroperitoneoscopic left adrenalectomy was performed smoothly. Pathology examination revealed intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia (IPEH). IPEH is a benign reactive intravascular process and must be distinguished from angiosarcoma carefully by histological characteristics. IPEH is mainly located in the head, neck, and upper extremities. By contrast, the incidence of intra-abdominal IPEH is extremely low and is often associated with gastrointestinal tract bleeding. Thus far, there are only four documented cases of adrenal IPEH. All cases underwent adrenalectomy and had no recurrence to date. Although the cases of adrenal IPEH are rare, we should still consider it as a differential diagnosis of adrenal mass accompanied with unexplained gastrointestinal tract bleeding. Copyright (C) 2013, Taiwan Urological Association. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC.