Extra- Adrenal Retroperitoneal Paraganglioma: Report of a Rare Case

Abstract

Extra- adrenal retroperitoneal paragangliomas are extremely rare neuroendocrine neoplasms with an incidence of 2-8per million. They arise from embryonic neural crest cells and are composed mainly of chromaffin cells located in the para-aortic sympathetic chain. They synthesize, store and secrete catecholamines because of which they may present with headache, sweating, palpitation and symptoms of hypertension.1 On the other hand, they may remain silent and non- functional and present with vague symptoms like pain abdomen due to episodic release of catecholamines.