Carotid body tumour

摘要

A 62-year-old woman was found incidentally to have a right carotid body tumour (CBT) during investigation for a transient ischemic attack. Computed tomography angiography confirmed a tumour measuring 1.5 x 3 cm splaying the carotid bifurcation (see Fig. 1). The patient underwent preoperative embolization, with penetration of the tumour bed, 2 days before surgical resection (see Figs 2,3). After initial neck dissection, a lymph node was removed. Frozen section revealed the node to be benign. The tumour was successfully resected off the internal carotid artery (ICA) with ease. The patient made an uneventful recovery. Post-operative histology revealed the lymph node to contain metastatic deposits and as such the patient was confirmed as having metastatic malignant paraganglioma. Staging investigations showed no further evidence of metastatic disease. The patient underwent adjuvant radiotherapy. She experienced hoarse voice, dysphagia, radiation dermatitis, skin erosion and reduced hearing as a consequence.