A case of an unexpected posterior mediastinal functional paraganglioma: case report and literature review

Abstract

Background: Paraganglioma can be found in a wide range of locations. However, paraganglioma in the posterior mediastinum is rare. An unexpected paraganglioma located in the posterior mediastinum was found during surgery. The anesthesia management of this patient was challenging.

Case presentation: A 65-year-old male with a posterior mediastinal tumor was scheduled for thoracoscopic mediastinal tumor resection. Severe hemodynamic changes during the operation and postoperative pathological diagnosis showed that the patient had a rare case of posterior mediastinal functional paraganglioma, which was not found before the operation. Although the patient did not experience side effects after surgery, he did experience a dangerous surgical process.

Conclusions: The correct diagnosis of paraganglioma, intensive preoperative screening, adequate preoperative preparation, and accurate intraoperative anesthesia management could provide better anesthesia for paraganglioma patients.

Keywords: Mediastinal tumor; Paraganglioma; Pheochromocytoma.

Fig. 1

Chest CT. The size of tumor was approximately 4.1 cm × 3.2 cm in the left spinal column, and the enhanced scan showed uniform enhancement

Fig. 2

Pathology diagnosed the posterior mediastinum tumor as PGL. a Postoperative pathology showed a patchy distribution of tumor cells with blue-purple cytoplasm and abundant interstitial blood sinuses. b CD56(+); c CgA(+); d SYN(+)