A paraganglioma in a hypertensive patient with unilateral renal hypoplasia

We report the case of a 46-year-old hypertensive Japanese female with renal insufficiency related to unilateral renal hypoplasia. The patient was found to have developed paraganglioma in the retroperitoneal space over a 5-year period. Catecholamine-producing tumors are not usually recognized as conditions associated with renal hypoplasia. Our long-term observation of the patient eventually led us to the diagnosis of paraganglioma. In hypertensive patients with chronic kidney disease, not only the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system but also catecholamine activity may be involved, particularly in the patients whose cases are complicated with unilateral renal hypoplasia.