Management of Abdominal Paraganglioma: A Single Center's Experience

Background and Objectives: Paragangliomas (PGLs) are rare neuroendocrine extra-adrenal tumors that could be secreting mass. The symptoms are the typical triad of paroxysmal headache, hypertension and sweating, but could also be accompanied by symptoms involving multiple organs. Surgery is the gold standard treatment for both PGLs and pheochromocytomas (PHEOs). Material and Methods: We used a computerized endocrine surgery registry to record the demographic and clinical data of 153 patients who underwent surgery for PPGL between 2010 and 2023 at our hospital. Results: Thirteen patients (8.43%) with paragangliomas underwent surgery at our institute. Five patients presented symptomatic syndrome. Preoperative investigations included enhanced abdominal CT (nine patients) and enhanced MRI (seven patients). In cases of suspicious mass, we performed 131I-MIBG scans (two patients) or 68GA-DOTATOC PET-CT scans (11 patients). Laparoscopic approach was used in four cases (30.7%) and abdominal laparotomy in the other nine (69.3%). Biochemical tests were performed on all patients. Conclusions: In this retrospective study, we discuss the multidisciplinary management in our institute of this rare disease, from its challenging diagnosis to the surgical strategy for PGLs. Laparoscopic surgery is the gold standard, but a tailored approach should be adopted for each patient.