Can surgery cure high blood pressure?

Surgery cannot cure all cases of high blood pressure. But when the high blood pressure is caused by certain swellings (tumor) which release hormones into the blood causing elevation of blood pressure, surgery is curative. One example is a mass arising from the adrenal gland known as pheochromocytoma. Similar mass when it arises from other locations, it is called paraganglioma.

Adrenal tumour is well known to produce fluctuating blood pressure with both high blood pressure and at times low blood pressure. These fluctuations can become very wild during surgery for this condition. In fact management of blood pressure during surgery for pheochromocytoma requires special skills from a trained team. When the tumour is manipulated during surgery, it releases a large quantity of hormones into the blood causing blood pressure to shoot up. Once the tumour is removed, hormone level falls markedly leading to low blood pressure which may may necessitate large quantities of fluid to be given through the veins, along with external supplements of the hormone (noradrenaline or even adrenaline).

Glossary

Pheochromocytoma: Tumour arising from the adrenal gland just above the kidney

Paraganglioma: Tumour which secretes same hormone as pheochromocytoma, but located away from the kidney

Adrenaline: Hormone released from the adrenal gland which increases the heart rate and blood pressure

Noradrenaline: Another hormone released from the adrenal gland which increases the blood pressure

Hormone: Chemical substance released by one organ or group of cells into the bloodstream, which has action elsewhere

Veins: Blood vessel carrying deoxygenated blood back to the heart