Trauma-Induced Retroperitoneal Paraganglioma Rupture Which Was Misunderstood as a Massive Retroperitoneal Hemorrhage

Paraganglioma is a very rare tumor and it can be diagnosed with catecholamine hypersecretion which induce a paroxysmal hypertension [1-3]. When it is ruptured by traumatic injury and the patient has a hemodynamic instability due to bleeding, preoperative evaluation and medical therapy are not impossible in acute phase [4,5]. Sometimes even though the patient has hypovolemic shock, catecholamine can mask the symptom of hypotension which confuses a clinician to make an adequate decision. Unfortunately, there is no definitive guideline of treatment for traumatic ruptured paraganglioma. Nevertheless, paroxysmal hypertension during shock and enhanced mass give us a clue for suspect of paraganglioma rupture in this case; it is difficult to distinguish paraganglioma rupture from retroperitoneal hematoma because of paroxysmal hypertension and enhanced ruptured mass.