A mesenteric paraganglioma.

Mesenteric paraganglioma is a solitary primary paraganglioma that occurs in the mesentery. It is a rare and unusual tumor, especially in non-typical sites such as the inferior mesenteric artery. We incidentally diagnosed a pelvic mass in a 22-year-old woman, who had not experienced vomiting, headache or hypertension. She was found to have an immobile solid mass on the left side of her pelvis, adjacent to the upper segment of the uterus. CT scans revealed a well-defined solid and cystic ovoid mass adjacent to the sigmoid colon and the uterus. Tumor markers were within the normal range. Surgery was performed to completely remove the mass. An intra-operative frozen section biopsy showed a benign cystic tumor. Histopathological examination indicated that it was a paraganglioma of the mesentery. Repeat CT examination did not reveal any local recurrence or distant metastasis during the 13-month follow-up period.