Comprehensive Surgical Management of a Carotid Body Tumour: A Case-Based Approach

Abstract

A carotid body tumor (CBT) is a head and neck tumor, being the most frequent form of head and neck paraganglioma, which has its origin in specialized cells at the carotid bifurcation. They are benign, slow growing neuroendocrine neoplasia that are difficult to manage because they are located vascularly and may cause complications that make it difficult to be successfully managed without a multidisciplinary approach to the treatment. CBTs are uncommon, highly vascular tumors which develop out of the neural crest-derived paraganglia in the carotid bifurcation. They are generally harmless, but they are mostly difficult to manage due to their positioning in crucial neurovascular areas. Diagnosis should be made early as they may exhibit malignant transformation and local aggressive invasion. We present a case of a 51 years old woman who has been successfully excised of a mass in the carotid body using the multidisciplinary approach to ensure the best patient survival. The current case report is consistent with the literature results, which state that preoperative assessment, surgical planning, and a team-based way of work are crucial to the management.