Carotid body tumors.

Between 1973 and 1984, five patients underwent excision of a carotid body tumor without operative mortality, cranial nerve palsy, cerebrovascular accident, or recurrence when followed to the present or to death from unassociated causes. The importance of preoperative four-vessel extracranial cerebrovascular arteriography for both diagnosis and planning of the operative approach cannot be overemphasized. These operations were performed without preoperative tumor embolization or transfusion, by selectively utilizing arterial resection, replacement, or repair, based on intraoperative evaluation of the individual tumor. Given the propensity of carotid body tumors to progressively enlarge, locally invade, and occasionally metastasize, all patients who are not prohibitive operative risks should undergo resection of carotid body tumors.