Abstract
Carotid body tumors (CBT) are very rare tumors and CBT masquerading as a submandibular lymph node are even rarer. The authors report a case of a middle aged male who was referred to the Otolaryngology department for investigation of a suspected/ apparent left submandibular lymph node. It was slow growing in nature, painless and firm to the touch but was otherwise asymptomatic. Given this presentation and his history of smoking two (2) packs of cigarettes a day for fifty-three (53) years a malignancy of the head and neck area was suspected. A Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) was done at his first visit and this was negative for malignancy. A Computed Tomography (CT) scan of the neck revealed a mass within the carotid sheath with the characteristic Lyre sign: the splaying of the internal and external carotid arteries typical of a paraganglioma or chemodectoma. Based on the recommendations of Shamblin, this case was classified as a Shamblin I, i.e. a perfect candidate for surgical resection. After adequate preparation, informed consent and further imaging, the tumor was resected an uneventful recovery was to be in keeping with the dictum of the Shamblin classification. The histology was reported as a Paraganglioma with no atypical features. We think this is the first reported case of CBT from the Caribbean countries.
Highlights
Carotid bodies are ellipsoid structures that lie within the adventitia of the carotid vessels, especially at the carotid bifurcation
Termed Chemodectomas, these tumors are accepted under the umbrella category of paragangliomas which is a reflection of their tissue of origin
Carotid body tumors (CBT) are commonly found as lateral neck masses lying within the carotid triangle
Summary
Carotid bodies are ellipsoid structures that lie within the adventitia of the carotid vessels, especially at the carotid bifurcation. They contain chemoreceptor cells, which physiologically mean that they are involved in the reflex control of respiration, heart rate and blood pressure via the chemical composition of blood. CBTs are commonly found as lateral neck masses lying within the carotid triangle. Upon their detection, surgery is generally accepted as the treatment of choice. Surgery is generally accepted as the treatment of choice These tumors are categorized by the Shamblin classification which predicts resectability, depending on the tumor size. We present a fit middle aged male smoker referred with an asymptomatic slow growing left carotid triangle mass
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