Retroperitoneal Paraganglioma Presenting as a Chest Pain: A Case Report

Abstract

Paragangliomas are very rare tumors derived from neuroendocrine cells of autonomic nervous system. Extra-adrenal paragangliomas account for only 10 to 15% of all paragangliomas and may present incidentally as a mass. Typical triad of fluctuating hypertension, headache, and sweating is not always present which makes the diagnosis difficult sometimes. Definitive diagnosis is usually made with histologic findings and surgery is the treatment of choice. We report a case of a 53-year-old male who presented with chest pain and vomiting.

Retroperitoneal Paraganglioma: A Case Report

“…5,6 The patient with functional paraganglioma may have symptoms of hypertension, headache, sweating and abdominal mass. 4 Our patient had history of intermittent headache, palpitations and sweating. Though there was an abdominal mass, patient did not have any pain in abdomen.…”

“…4 Retroperitoneal paragangliomas originate from neural crest cells present along the aorta and sympathetic chain, i.e. parganglia.…”

“…Non-functioning paragangliomas usually do not produce any symptom; however, when enlarged in size, pain may be the presenting symptoms due to compression of surrounding organ. 4 We report a rare case of retroperitoneal paraganglioma presented as abdominal mass with symptoms of headache, palpitation and sweating.…”

Laparoscopic Resection of a Non-functional, Extra-adrenal Paraganglioma: A Case Report and Literature Review

“…Retroperitoneal extra-adrenal paragangliomas are rare tumors originating from chromaffin cells of the primitive neural crest during their migration to form the paraspinal sympathetic paraganglia. They have an estimated incidence of 2-8 per million people in the general population [2,4,[7][8][9]. There is a great variation regarding their location, but 85% of them are retroperitoneal and are usually located between the origin of inferior mesenteric artery and the aortic bifurcation [7,8].…”

“…Up to 15% of retroperitoneal paragangliomas are non-functional, and up to 10% are functional without clinical manifestation, although they resemble functional ones histologically and immunologically [4][5][6]. Their clinical presentation varies depending on their location, size, and secretion status, while their diagnosis and treatment may be challenging due to their close proximity to major vessels and surrounding organs, demanding multidisciplinary medical approach and cooperation [2,7,8]. Our study aims to underline the importance of a multidisciplinary medical approach and the benefit of a minimally invasive surgical method for treating retroperitoneal paraganglioma.…”