A 49-year-old man was admitted to hospital for treatment of a T10-11 paraspinal lesion, which was detected incidentally. He had suffered from facial flushing and palpitations associated with hypertension for many years. MRI confirmed the presence of a large, well-demarcated tumour in the left paraspinal area of the T10-11 vertebral bodies. Grossly complete excision was achieved without neurological complications. Post-operatively, the patient was normotensive with no adrenergic symptoms. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.