Paragangliomas of the Head and Neck

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics of carotid body tumors and to analyze the benefits of different treatment modalities. Subjects and Methods: The clinical records of 13 patients with paragangliomas treated during the period of 1995–2005 were reviewed for age at diagnosis, sex, initial symptoms, duration of symptoms, evidence of secretory function, family history, radiographic studies, pre- and posttreatment cranial nerve deficits, multicentric tumors, angiography, operative procedures and findings, and complications. The diagnoses were established by computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Angiography was performed on 3patients with carotid body tumor. Results: All of the patients were followed up for a duration ranging from 16 months to 9 years. The median follow-up was 5 years. Of all 18 head and neck tumors confirmed in 13 patients, 16 were in the carotid body, 1 in the vagus nerve and 1 in the middle ear cleft. Four patients had multiple paragangliomas, 2 bilateral synchronous and 1 bilateral asynchronous paragangliomas. The remaining patient had 3 asynchronous paragangliomas, i.e. left jugulotympanic, right carotid body and left vagal paraganglioma. All patients underwent successful surgical resection of the tumor after appropriate preoperative investigation. Conclusion: This study shows that surgical treatment is acceptably safe and effective in treating these neoplasms.