More Common than You Would Think: A Case of Catecholamine-Secreting Paraganglioma in the Urinary Bladder (original) (raw)

A 57-year-old woman presented with headache, palpitations and hypertension associated with micturition and was found to have a bladder tumour on imaging. During cystoscopy, with manipulation of the mass, the patient became symptomatic and hypertensive, and a catecholamine-secreting paraganglioma was suspected. Biochemical testing confirmed the diagnosis of paraganglioma of the urinary bladder and she underwent successful resection after preoperative treatment with alpha- and beta-adrenergic blockade and volume expansion. In this article, we outline the prevalence of extra-adrenal paragangliomas and their possible genetic basis. We also overview the diagnosis, perioperative management, follow-up testing and prognosis of these tumours.