HYPERTENSION AND UNILATERAL RENAL ISCHEMIA (PAGE KIDNEY) DUE TO COMPRESSION OF A RETROPERITONEAL PARAGANGLIOMA

We describe a 17-year-old hypertensive man with a left abdominal mass on the computed tomographic scan. Radiologic studies revealed a large tumor near the left renal hilus, resulting in renal compression and di splacement toward the posterolateral abdominal cavity, Aortography exc luded stenosis of the renal arterial vessels. Plasma and urinary catec holamines were normal and plasma renin activity (PRA) was high, The le ft renal vein renin was 2.1-fold higher than the right one, After rese cting the tumor including the left kidney and adrenal, high blood pres sure and elevated PRA returned to normal. Histologically, the tumor wa s a paraganglioma, and the affected kidney showed hyperplasia of the j uxtaglomerular apparatus. Thus, the hypertension in our patient was pr obably due to renal ischemia extrinsically compressed by a non-functio ning retroperitoneal paraganglioma (Page kidney).