Carotid body and cervical paragangliomas

Abstract

Carotid body or cervical paragangliomas are rare cases for most surgeons. In addition, these tumours have a reputation for being difficult to resect because of impressive vascularity, arterial adherence and local cranial nerve involvement. In fact, stroke and cranial nerve dysfunction remain sobering risks of surgical resection (Table 1). However, recent advances in preoperative evaluation and surgical technique have reduced perioperative complications to a reassuringly low level. The following surgical strategy and technique is based upon our long-term experience with over 150 carotid and cervical paragangliomas treated and followed at the Mayo Clinic over the past 50 years¹.