title: Non-functional paraganglioma of the mediastinum.
abstract: Paragangliomas are rare tumours which have the ability to secrete neuropeptide and catecholamines. Frequently, the clinical presentation of these tumours is ill defined and some may have no symptoms whatsoever until the tumour is large enough to cause symptoms secondary to local invasion and mass effect, hence making paragangliomas a challenge to diagnose and manage surgically. We report a case of a 55 year old female who presented with shortness of breath and chest pain for 3 years. Further investigations led to the demonstration of a mass along the left side of the mediastinum which was suggestive of a neoplasm. Complete surgical resection of the tumour was achieved and the patient was discharged uneventfully.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi.
authors.forename: Niaz Hussain
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Soomro
authors.affiliation: Intern, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi.
authors.forename: Amna Bine
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Zahid
authors.affiliation: Research Assistant, Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi.
authors.forename: Aneeqa Ahsan
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Zafar
mesh_terms: D002637:Chest Pain / Q000209:etiology; D004417:Dyspnea / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D010235:Paraganglioma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery
keywords: Paraganglioma, Endocrine tumour, Mediastinal mass.