CAROTID BODY TUMOR - A CASE REPORT

Carotid body tumors are rare neoplasms, which typically present as a slow growing, painless neck mass found along the anterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. All borders were well-defined. It was non pulsatile, had no cranial nerve involvement. Neck glands were not enlarged. Her haematological and biochemical investigations did not reveal any abnormality. These tumors are generally benign but possess aggressive local growth potential. A 50 year female patient presented with a large (70 x 50 x 45 mm) sized swelling on the left side of the neck in the anterior triangle. CT with contrast revealed a hyper vascular lesion 5x4 cm at the carotid fork and not attached to the vessel (Shamblin type II). The operation was performed under general anaesthesia with endotracheal intubation. There were a lot of feeding vessels between the tumour mass and external and common carotid artery. The tumour was excised along the subadventitial plane. Histological examination of the tumor mass was done and it revealed typical features of non-secreting paraganglioma. The patient recovered well from the effect of anaesthesia and there were no neurological deficit. Therefore, definitive treatment requires surgical resection. Paragangliomas (PGLs) are extra-adrenally located in 10% of cases. The authors describe a case of a patient with a carotid body tumor and review the most recent literature on this unusual topic.