ADRENAL AUTOGRAFTS FOLLOWING BILATERAL ADRENALECTOMY

Bilateral adrenalectomy followed by immediate transplantation of adren al slices into muscular tissue was performed in 7 patients with Cushin g's disease and 1 with bilateral pheochromocytoma. Patients were follo wed for 1 to 7 years and only 1 had evidence of a functional graft (se rum cortisol level at the lower limit of normality). Low levels of deh ydroepiandrosterone sulfate, aldosterone and cortisol were found in th e remaining patients. Acute stimulation with adrenocorticotropichormon e did not increase either cortisol or aldosterone levels in any patien t. We conclude that prospective studies are needed to elucidate factor s that could improve the success of adrenal implantation, since the li terature shows examples of functional grafts, while the majority of th e cases are unsuccessful.