Diagnosis and surgical treatment of the carotid body tumors.

Resection of carotid body tumors can be difficult to perform because of its site, vascularity, arterial adherence and local cranial nerve involvement. Advances in vascular surgical technique have reduced the risks of perioperative complications such as carotid injury, stroke and death. From January 1980 to May 1994 20 patients (22 carotid body tumors) were examined. All patients except one were evaluated with a preoperative angiography. No preoperative embolization was performed. Thirteen patients underwent ultrasonography, nine a CT scan of the neck, 5 magnetic resonance scanning and two magnetic resonance angiography. One old patient refused operation. The authors report their experience on 21 carotid body tumor resections (14 Shamblin group I and 7 group II paragangliomas). Surgical technique is based on subadventitial resection (18 excisions) and 3 resections were performed from the medial surface of the carotid bifurcation which had been partially absorbed into the mass. In the last 15 operations intraoperative Somatosensorial Evoked Potential (SEP) monitoring has been used. Only two patient required arterial repair because intimal dissection and another patient needed vagus nerve section. The ligation of external carotid artery and internal carotid resection with graft replacement were never necessary in these patients. No early or late deaths occurred and no recurrences were detected at follow-up.