Paragangliomas of the parasellar region

Parasellar paragangliomas are rare tumors. As far as we know, only ten cases are described in the literature. Their clinical, pathological, and radiological features and possible origin are discussed in this article and a review of the literature is given. Additionally, we report a new case of a 51-year-old woman with paraganglioma growing in the anterior, middle, and posterior cranial fossa with extended destruction of the skull base. The patient had been suffering from long-standing headaches and facial nerve paresis. Preoperatively, this tumor was suspected to be a meningioma.