Abdominal Ultrasound in the Detection of an Incidental Paraganglioma

Hsiao-Ting Chen; Yung-Yin Cheng; Teng-Fu Tsao; Cheng-Ming Peng; Jeng-Dong Hsu; Yeu-Sheng Tyan

doi:10.4103/JMU.JMU_25_20

Abdominal Ultrasound in the Detection of an Incidental Paraganglioma

J Med Ultrasound. 2020 Jul 14;29(2):119-122. doi: 10.4103/JMU.JMU_25_20. eCollection 2021 Apr-Jun.

Authors

Hsiao-Ting Chen^{1

2}, Yung-Yin Cheng^{1

2}, Teng-Fu Tsao^{1

2

3}, Cheng-Ming Peng^{3

4}, Jeng-Dong Hsu^{3

5}, Yeu-Sheng Tyan^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Imaging, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
² Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
³ School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
⁴ Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
⁵ Department of Pathology, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.

Abstract

Paraganglioma is a tumor that originates from neuroendocrine cells of the sympathetic or parasympathetic systems. Patients may suffer from headaches, palpitations, diaphoresis, and hypertension due to catecholamine excess or symptoms from the mass effect of the tumor. In the absence of typical symptoms of catecholamine excess, the diagnosis of a nonfunctional paraganglioma is often delayed. Herein, we report a case of a 63-year-old female patient with a nonfunctional paraganglioma which is an accidental finding during investigation of a fever. Abdominal ultrasonography incidentally detected this lesion as a complex, solid, cystic mass in the left suprarenal retroperitoneum.

Keywords: Paraganglioma; retroperitoneum; ultrasound.

Publication types

Case Reports