title: Extra-adrenal nonfunctional retroperitoneal paraganglioma: case report and review of the literature.
abstract: An extra-adrenal paraganglioma is a rare tumor derived from the chromaffin cells of sympathetic ganglia. This report documents a rare case of nonfunctional extra-adrenal paraganglioma in a 20-year-old woman with persistent flank pain. Ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a solid mass with calcification in center, measuring 7 x 6 x 6 cm, and localized in the left upper para-aortal retroperitoneal region. Absence of typical clinical symptoms made a correct preoperative diagnosis unlikely. Tumor was successfully removed through a midline laparotomy incision, and pathological analysis of the surgical specimen revealed a paraganglioma. After 12 months, the patient is still in a good health, asymptomatic, and without evidence of tumor recurrence. This case emphasizes the necessity to include extra-adrenal paraganglioma in the differential diagnosis and management of retroperitoneal tumors, despite its rarity.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Surgery N. Anestiadi and Laboratory of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, Medical University N. Testemitsanu, Kishinev, Moldova.
authors.forename: Gheorghe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ghidirim
authors.forename: Gheorghe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rojnoveanu
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mishin
authors.forename: Eugen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gutsu
authors.forename: Iraida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Iakovleva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010236:Paraganglioma, Extra-Adrenal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed