Monitored anesthesia care in a case of pheochromocytoma and atrial myxoma.

Anesthesia for a patient with pheochromocytoma is challenging; irrespective of whether it is a diagnosed case for planned surgery or an occult case, it can be a nightmare. The patient may be given anesthesia for removal of the primary tumor or for surgery other than for the removal of the primary tumor. Hemodynamic derangements like hypertension and arrhythmia can be catastrophic. Monitored anesthesia care, though used for many cases, is unusual for a patient with diagnosed pheochromocytoma, with vertebral metastasis leading to paraplegia and atrial myxoma. In the case described below, the patient was operated for closed reduction, internal fixation with interlock nail femur, for pathological fracture. Surgery was done under monitored anesthesia care as there was no need for regional, spinal, or general anesthesia because of coexisting paraplegia. Surgery was uneventful and the postoperative period was smooth. This case is presented for its uniqueness of multiple diseases and uneventful recovery without any complications of anesthesia. The nightmare of pheochromocytoma eased without any morbidity for the patient, but this may not always be the case.