Suburethral paraganglioma.

Abstract

Masses presenting beneath the urethra are not uncommon. Besides ureteral diverticula, which account for the vast majority of these masses, a multiplicity of heterogeneous benign and malignant tumors have been encountered in this region. To the best of our knowledge, we report the first case of a neuroendocrine tumor, a paraganglioma, discovered in the anatomical compartment between the urethra and vagina. When evaluating a patient with a suburethral mass, it is important to consider paraganglioma as part of the differential diagnosis because unwitting surgical removal of a functional catecholamine-secreting tumor may precipitate a severe hypotensive episode and/or death.