Caring for a patient with unexpected pheochromocytoma complicated by medical fraud.

We report a case of a patient who used multiple aliases as part of a medical fraud scheme. As a consequence, the surgical team was unaware of a left-sided adrenal mass that had been documented for this patient under another name. In the operating room, severe hypertension from the undiagnosed pheochromocytoma led to a ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest. This case demonstrates the importance of physician awareness of medical identity fraud and its potential consequences.