Myelolipomas of the adrenal gland are non-functioning benign tumors and are often detected incidentally because they lack in clinical findings. The tumor has been thought of rare entity. Recently, we have experienced a case of myelolipoma of the adrenal gland that was found out incidentally during close examination for cholelithiasis.
A 55-year-old man visited another hospital because of epigastric pain late in August 1994, and was referred to the hospital for operation with a diagnosis of cholelithiasis on March 1, 1995. The patient was under medical treatment for hypertension, angina pectoris and arrhythmia for these 2 years. After admission, preoperative close examinations including abominal ultrasonography, CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultrasonic endoscopy revealed a 50×45mm tumor upper the right kidney. With a diagnosis of right adrenal tumor and cholelithiasis, an extirpation of the right adrenal tumor and cholecystectomy were performed on March 13. Histopathological examination of the resected material revealed that yellowish portion of the adrenal tumor was composed of cortex and fatty tissue, and in the fatty tissue a small quantity of myeloid tissue including erythroblasts were confirmed. So the definitive diagnosis of myelolipoma of the adrenal gland was achieved.