Laparoscopic Resection of a Non-functional, Extra-adrenal Paraganglioma: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Non-functional, extra-adrenal, retroperitoneal paraganglioma is a rare, neuroendocrine, and potentially malignant tumor. Its diagnosis and treatment may be challenging. A 69-year-old female patient was admitted because of a left para-aortic, solid, 4.4-cm mass, incidentally discovered during abdominal ultrasonography for screening purposes. Her clinical examination was unremarkable. Preoperative differential diagnosis based on cross-sectional imaging included tumor of neuroendocrine or mesenchymal origin. Hormonal investigation with 24-hour urinary catecholamines and metanephrines and plasma-fractionated metanephrines was in the normal range. Following consultation with the endocrinologist and anesthesiologist, the tumor was removed by using the three-dimensional (3D) laparoscopic transperitoneal surgical approach. The perioperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged on the third postoperative day. Histopathologic findings were consistent with the diagnosis of retroperitoneal extra-adrenal paraganglioma of 5 cm in maximum diameter.

Multiple and Bilateral Sporadic Renal Cell Carcinomas: A Surgical Challenge.

Sporadic, synchronous, bilateral, or unilateral Renal Cell Carcinomas constitute a rare clinical entity. We report the case of a 68-year-old male patient who presented in our department due to incidentally discovered multiple, bilateral renal tumors. Magnetic Resonance Imaging demonstrated cT1b renal tumors at the lower pole of each kidney and a cT1a renal tumor at the upper pole of the right kidney. The patient underwent transperitoneal, laparoscopic left partial nephrectomy with renal artery occlusion, histology revealed high-grade, pT1b, clear-cell renal cell carcinoma; however we observed decline of patient's estimated glomerular filtration rate postoperatively. Forty days postoperatively, he underwent open partial nephrectomy for the right sided tumors with manual compression of the renal parenchyma and no use of ischemia. Histology revealed high-grade, pT1a, clear-cell renal cell carcinoma at the upper pole of the right kidney and low-grade, pT1b, clear-cell renal cell carcinoma at the lower pole of the right kidney. There was no additional decline in the serum creatinine value postoperatively. The patient avoided permanent or temporary dialysis and 6 months postoperatively he demonstrated no recurrence on imaging and his renal function remained stable.

Synchronous Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor and Adenocarcinoma of the Prostate: Case Report and Literature Review.

Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors (MPNSTs) of the prostate are extremely rare. A very unusual case of simultaneous adenocarcinoma and MPNST of the prostate is reported. A 60-year-old Caucasian male presented for annual urologic examination. Digital rectal examination revealed a painless, toughish, and asymmetrically enlarged prostate. Serum prostate-specific antigen was 1 ng/mL. Radiologic examinations demonstrated a large mass, which was arising from the left peripheral lobe of the prostate. The patient underwent transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy of the prostate which revealed a smooth muscle tumor of uncertain malignant potential. Radical retropubic prostatectomy with en bloc removal of the mass and the seminal vesicles was performed and histology demonstrated low-grade MPNST and adenocarcinoma of the prostate. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of simultaneous prostatic adenocarcinoma and MPNST in the English literature.