Nonfunctional bladder paraganglioma misdiagnosed as hemangioma: A case report

BACKGROUND Paraganglioma of the urinary bladder (PUB) is a nonepithelial tumor of the bladder that is also known as bladder pheochromocytoma. The incidence of nonfunctional paraganglioma of the urinary bladder is rare in clinical practice. CASE SUMMARY A case of nonfunctional paraganglioma of the urinary bladder diagnosed and treated in our hospital is reported herein. A 2.5 cm x 2.1 cm moderate-echo mass protruding into the right anterior wall of the bladder was incidentally found during transvaginal color Doppler ultrasound examination. Based on a contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan of the bladder, the right anterior wall of the bladder was considered to present a hemangioma. The patient underwent laparoscopic partial resection of the bladder wall in our hospital, and pathological results showed paraganglioma of the bladder. At present, we have followed up with the patient for half a year, and there has been no recurrence of the tumor. CONCLUSION The imaging patterns of PUB and bladder hemangioma are similar. In clinical practice, the possibility of PUB should be considered for a single wide-based isoechoic mass in the bladder, especially functional PUB may cause some adverse effects during surgery.