Giant symptomatic adrenal myelolipoma: A case report

Introduction: Adrenal myelolipomas are rare non-functioning benign tumors composed of adipose and hematopoietic tissues. Most AMLs are discovered incidentally and represent the second most common adrenal incidentaloma. Case presentation: A 58-years-old female patient, obese with a history of diabetes and blood hypertension presented with complaints of pain in the left flank. Abdominopelvic computed tomography showed a giant well-defined mass of the left adrenal gland with fat density suggesting adrenal myelolipoma. The patient underwent open left adrenalectomy. The pathological study confirmed the diagnosis of adrenal myelolipoma. Discussion: Most AMLs are asymptomatic, remain stable in size, or grow slowly. Mass effect symptoms and spontaneous rupture are observed more in larger AMLs. The most common symptoms observed are abdominal discomfort/pain, hypochondrial pain, and flank pain. Most of the AMLs are discovered incidentally and the radiological features are accurate in diagnosing AML in up to 90% of the cases, CT is more sensitive for detection than other imaging modalities. The open surgery approach is the standard treatment of choice for giant AML (>10cm) while the minimally invasive approach has been used in only a few cases. Conclusion: The therapeutic management is discussed on a case-by-case basis. Surgical treatment is indicated for larger, symptomatic, or rapidly growing AMLs. Meanwhile smaller and asymptomatic AMLs are managed conservatively.