Nonfunctional Pelvic Retroperitoneal Paraganglioma Mimicking Postmenopausal Adnexal Mass

Abstract

Paraganglioma is a rare tumor originates from paraganglial tissue which is composed of extraadrenal chromaffin cells. The pelvic and retroperitoneal location of this tumor is extremely rare and it can mimic adnexal mass. The diagnosis of paraganglioma in this region is difficult. The exact diagnosis may only be reached after the total excision and histopathologic examination of the tumor. In this report, for the first time, we presented a postmenopausal woman who had nonfunctional retroperitoneal paraganglioma mimicking postmenopausal adnexal mass. This case emphasizes that extraadrenal paraganglioma should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis in all patients including postmenopausal woman with retroperitoneal mass even in the presence of nonspecific symptoms like abdominal pain.