Intrasellar Paraganglioma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Intrasellar paragangliomas are very rare lesions with only six previous cases described in the literature. We present a further case of intrasellar paraganglioma. The patient was a 52-year-old man who developed two transient ischemic attacks. A CT scan showed an intra- and suprasellar extending lesion, which was regarded as a possible nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenoma. Removal of the lesion was accomplished by trans-sphenoidal surgery. Histological examination was diagnostic of a paraganglioma. We review the literature and discuss pathological features and possible pathogenesis of sellar and parasellar paragangliomas, underlining the necessity to consider paraganglioma in the differential diagnosis of sellar lesions.