Extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma (paraganglioma) of the urinary bladder: a case report.

The case of a 49-year-old male patient with paraganglioma of the urinary bladder is presented here. The patient's only complaint was of gross hematuria: sustained hypertension and post-micturitional hypertension were not presented. Transurethral resection was performed to diagnose the bladder tumor. Pathological examination resulted in the diagnosis that the resected tissue was a paraganglioma. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and iodine-131-labeled metaiodbenzylguanidine scintigraphy revealed that the tumor was a primary paraganglioma in the urinary bladder. Plasma concentrations of the catecholamines were virtually within the normal limits. Hypertensive crisis was not revealed during the transurethral resection. The tumor was non-functional. Partial cystectomy was performed. The patient has remained disease-free for five months after surgery.