Paraganglioma of the urinary bladder: a case report

Paragangliomas of the urinary bladder are very rare. To date, there are no reliable methods for predicting their clinical behavior, so long-term follow-up is required. We describe a paraganglioma of the urinary bladder in a 32-year-old male who presented with painless gross hematuria. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed a protruding mass with hematoma over the right lateral wall of the urinary bladder. The tumor was not completely resected by transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) due to intermingling with the bladder wall. Follow-up I131-metaiodobenzylguanidine was performed 3 weeks after surgery and suspected incomplete resection lesions were noted. Histologic examination of the tumor indicated paraganglioma of the urinary bladder. We also provide a brief review of the literature for comparison.