[Minimally invasive surgery of retroperitoneal paragangliomas : Synopsis of personal experiences].
Retroperitoneal paragangliomas are rare tumors with the characteristics of adrenal pheochromocytomas. They may occur sporadically or in conjunction with hereditary syndromes. Diagnostic methods in paragangliomas include testing of catecholamine secretion and imaging procedures. The first choice treatment is surgical removal, which in the author's opinion is preferably by minimally invasive approaches. Infrarenal paragangliomas should be excised using a laparoscopic transabdominal procedure. For suprarenal tumors the retroperitoneoscopic approach should be used.