Functional Bladder Paraganglioma as an Incidental Finding During Infertility Workup

Bladder paragangliomas (PGLs) are extremely rare catecholamine-producing neuroendocrine tumors. They arise more frequently in the trigone and have unpredictable depth and behavior. Most cases typically present with a well-defined set of symptoms triggered by micturition or bladder overdistension. Besides long-term follow-up, they are usually managed by either transurethral resection (TUR) or partial cystectomy (PC). However, about 25% of all documented cases do not manifest clinically, raising both diagnosis and management challenges. This report describes an unusual case of a misdiagnosed, functional PGL arising on the bladder dome, which was fortuitously detected in a 21-year-old female during a fertility workup. Owing to its hypervascular nature and submucosal location, bladder PGL was suspected on ultrasound and CT findings and successfully diagnosed before surgery through biochemical confirmation. It was managed by cystoscopy-guided laparoscopic partial cystectomy (LPC) with good oncological and urinary outcomes, as well as no compromise of her fertility potential. To our best knowledge, this is the first case to be incidentally detected on transvaginal ultrasound during evaluation for infertility. This case also stresses the importance of considering PGL in the differential diagnosis of atypical bladder tumors, as well as conservative management through simultaneous laparoscopy and cystoscopy, when approaching young patients with large functional PGL.