Unsuspected paraganglioma of the urinary bladder with intraoperative hypertensive crises: A case report

Abstract

Paraganglioma of the urinary bladder is rare, accounting for <0.05% of all bladder tumors. Common clinical findings in patients with bladder paraganglioma include hematuria and intermittent hypertension during urination, along with generalized symptoms due to increased levels of catecholamines. Although unsuspected bladder paraganglioma may result in intraoperative hypertensive crises, these may be avoided if characteristic imaging signs are observed. The present study reports a case in which a patient with unsuspected paraganglioma experienced a severe hypertensive episode during cystoscopic tumor resection. Although this case had typical computed tomographic characteristics of the bladder paraganglioma, the possibility of the paraganglioma pre-operatively was not taken into account.