[Pheochromocytoma and Recklinghausen's cutaneous neurofibromatosis. Localizing value of abdominal reflexes in a case].

The authors present a case of pheochromocytoma observed in a 49 year old man suffering from the cutaneous form of von Recklinghausen's disease. In this patient, they noted the constant absence of the inferior abdominal cutaneous reflex on the right side, contrasting with the briskness of the other abdominal cutaneous relexes. From this they concluded that the chromaffin tumor was very probably situated in the right adrenal region. This hypothesis was confirmed by retro-pneumoperitoneum, selective arteriography and finally surgical intervention. After having reviewed the essential medical data from the literature concerning the conditions associated with pheochromocytoma and especially phacomatosis, and having looked at the problem of hypertension related to neurofibromatosis, they make a critical study of the behaviour of the abdominal reflexes in case of pheochromocytoma and emphasize the part that it is possible to draw from this in view of its' topographic diagnosis. The present case is the fourth in which one of the authors has noted the abolition of the inferior abdominal reflex on the side corresponding to the site of the pheochromocytoma.