Int Surg
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Review Case Reports
Extra-adrenal nonfunctional retroperitoneal paraganglioma: case report and review of the literature.
An extra-adrenal paraganglioma is a rare tumor derived from the chromaffin cells of sympathetic ganglia. This report documents a rare case of nonfunctional extra-adrenal paraganglioma in a 20-year-old woman with persistent flank pain. Ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a solid mass with calcification in center, measuring 7 x 6 x 6 cm, and localized in the left upper para-aortal retroperitoneal region. ⋯ Tumor was successfully removed through a midline laparotomy incision, and pathological analysis of the surgical specimen revealed a paraganglioma. After 12 months, the patient is still in a good health, asymptomatic, and without evidence of tumor recurrence. This case emphasizes the necessity to include extra-adrenal paraganglioma in the differential diagnosis and management of retroperitoneal tumors, despite its rarity.
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Postoperative complications of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy may be troublesome in some patients. Between January 1998 and September 2002, a total of 16 patients with recurrent palmar hyperhidrosis underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic T2 and T3 sympathetic block. There were seven men and nine women, with a mean age of 21.1 years (range, 12-35 years). ⋯ One patient received a reverse operation 12 days after the T2 and T3 clipping and obtained improvement of troublesome compensatory sweating and dry hands 1 day after removal of all clips. All patients obtained improvement of palmar hyperhidrosis without recurrence after a mean of 37.1 months of follow-up (range, 12-56 months). Endoscopic thoracic T2 with or without T3 sympathetic block by clipping is a safe and effective method in treating patients with recurrent palmar hyperhidrosis.