Nonfunctioning paraganglioma of the aortopulmonary window

• Published in: The Annals of thoracic surgery Vol. 75; no. 6; pp. 1950 - 1951
• Main Authors: Andrade, Cristiano F, Camargo, Spencer M, Zanchet, Marcelo, Felicetti, José C, Cardoso, Paulo F.G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01-06-2003; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Aorta, Thoracic - diagnostic imaging; Aorta, Thoracic - pathology; Aorta, Thoracic - surgery; Aortic Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Aortic Diseases - pathology; Aortic Diseases - surgery; Biological and medical sciences; Biopsy; Cardiopulmonary Bypass; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Hemostasis, Surgical; Humans; Mediastinal Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Mediastinal Diseases - pathology; Mediastinal Diseases - surgery; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Neovascularization, Pathologic - diagnostic imaging; Neovascularization, Pathologic - pathology; Neovascularization, Pathologic - surgery; Paraganglioma - diagnostic imaging; Paraganglioma - pathology; Paraganglioma - surgery; Pneumology; Pulmonary Artery - diagnostic imaging; Pulmonary Artery - pathology; Pulmonary Artery - surgery; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Tumors of the respiratory system and mediastinum; Vascular Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Vascular Neoplasms - pathology; Vascular Neoplasms - surgery; Human; Intensive cardiocirculatory care; Nervous system diseases; Mediastinum disease; Mediastinum; Paraganglioma; Cardiopulmonary bypass; Case study; Treatment; Exeresis; Surgery; Diseases of the autonomic nervous system; Tumor; Adult; Diagnosis; Technique
• ISSN: 0003-4975; 1552-6259
• DOI: 10.1016/S0003-4975(02)04841-5

Aortopulmonary paraganglioma is a rare tumor of the mediastinum. The only effective treatment is complete resection, which may pose a surgical challenge because of its proximity to the heart, great vessels, and trachea, often rendering a complete resection difficult to achieve. We report a case in which the tumor was excised under cardiopulmonary bypass and resulted in massive bleeding only controlled by means of packing the pleural cavity during 48 hours, known as damage control strategy. The patient survived and has been disease-free for 2 years.