Surgical treatment of malignant carotid body tumor

Objective To summarize the surgical treatment of malignant carotid body tumor (MCBT). Methods A retrospective analysis of 14 MCBT patients admitted at our hospital from Mar 2005 to Nov 2019 was made, and the imaging data, surgical records, perioperative complications and follow-up data were collected. Results There were 8 males and 6 females, with an average age of (40.8±11.3) years. 10 patients underwent surgical resection of CBT, with one case undergoing tumor enucleation only, nine cases underwent internal carotid artery reconstruction, and all patients underwent intraoperative lymph node biopsy.Tumors were completely removed in all 10 patients. No perioperative death or cerebral infarction occurred. The intraoperative blood loss was (955±658.5) ml. Four patients had permanent nerve injury after surgery. The follow-up time ranged 1-132 months. There were no cases of cerebral infarction or death, and the reconstructed graft remained patent. Apart from the 2 patients who developed tumor metastasis after surgery, other patients recovered uneventfully with no disease progression. Conclusions Surgery is still the main treatment for MCBT, but MCBT is large and Shamblin class is more advanced. Therefore, complete tumor removal and reconstruction of the carotid arteries are difficult. Surgery should seek to completely remove the tumor and neck lymph node biopsy should be performed to determine the lymph node metastasis. Key words: Carotid body tumor; Vascular surgical procedures