The diagnosis and treatment of 12 cases with carotid body tumor

Objective To summarize the experiences of diagnosing and treating carotid body tumor(CBT).Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 12 patients with CBT from 2006 to 2012 in our hospital.10 patients were unilateral and 2 patients were bilateral,so there were 14 cases of CBT.All cases underwent surgical resection with pathology diagnosis,including 7 cases with single tumor resection,4 cases with tumor combined external carotid artery resection,and 3 cases with tumor combined partial internal carotid artery resection plus internal carotid artery reconstruction.Results 14 cases of CBT were removed completely with no perioperative death and serious complication.No recurrence or metastasis was reported after 10 months to 6-years of follow-up.Conclusion CBT can be diagnosed by the characteristic imaging of CT or MRI,preoperative embolization was not necessary.For those patients of Shamblin Ⅲ,the technique of vascular reconstruction can attain good surgical effects.