Carotid body tumors

Abstract

1. 1. Four cases of carotid body tumor subjected to surgical removal are reported. 2. 2. Three were in men and one in a woman and their ages were respectively 15, 52, 36 and 40 years. 3. 3. The tumors were of two months', twenty years', three years' and four years' duration. That they may exist for years without complications is illustrated by the second case. This brings up the question of radiation treatment. 4. 4. A correct preoperative diagnosis was made in three cases and during operation in the fourth. 5. 5. Two tumors were encapsulated and two had infiltrated the surrounding tissues. 6. 6. The carotids were ligated once and resected twice. The tumor was removed once without injury to th evessels. 7. 7. The facial nerve was temporarily injured twice. The right vagus nerve was resected three times. The spinal accessory was injured twice, the hypoglossal twice and the cervical sympathetic nerve once. 8. 8. No case at any time had hemiplegia. 9. 9. None received preoperative, and but one postoperative x-ray therapy. 10. 10. There were no deaths and no recurrences respectively forty, twenty-nine, and fifteen months after operation. One case could not be traced.