Endoscopic Resection of Functional Paraganglioma of the Pterygopalatine Fossa: A Case Report

Abstract

Functional paraganglioma is a rare tumor that secretes the catecholamine which is able to cause secondary hypertension. Surgical resection is the only curative treatment modality for this tumor, which can correct the secondary hypertension. The pterygopalatine fossa is a small retromaxillary space which contains a neurovascular bundle that crosses the middle cranial fossa to the nasal cavity, nasal septum, and oral cavity. To our knowledge, two cases have been reported for functional paraganglioma involving the pterygopalatine fossa removed by surgery. We present a patient who had a catecholamine-secreting paraganglioma in the pterygopalatine fossa, which is the first case successfully resected with an endoscopic approach.