The American journal of the medical sciences
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A 43-year-old woman had clinical and biochemical evidence of a secreting paraganglioma of the glomus jugulare region. Catecholamine secretion was exacerbated during embolization of the tumor before surgery and resulted in a life-threatening vasomotor attack. ⋯ This case is reported to stress the importance of adequate preoperative assessment of patients with paragangliomas of the head and neck. The extreme rarity of catecholamine-secreting tumors of this region should not lead us to underestimate the morbidity and mortality of such patients undergoing surgery or any other invasive procedure whether the diagnosis is confirmed or only suspected.