Carotid body tumours. A review of 52 cases.

During a 22-year period (1962-1984) 52 carotid body tumours were encountered in 50 patients. In addition, 2 of the patients had tumours of the glomus intravagale. One patient had a recurrent tumour, the first one having been removed 23 years previously. The ages ranged from 23 to 80 years, the female/male ratio was 2:1, and the right side was affected twice as often as the left. Four patients were treated non-surgically; 3 were too elderly and frail to undergo the operation and in the 4th case the tumour was considered inoperable. In 2 cases excision was attempted but abandoned for technical reasons. In the remaining 44 patients 46 tumours were excised, with grafting of the internal carotid artery in 6 cases. There were 2 deaths (4.5%), 1 after hemiplegia and 1 a pulmonary embolus. Eight patients were left with cranial nerve palsy, which had been present preoperatively in 5 cases. Of the tumours 7 (13.5%) were found to be malignant. The results of endocrine studies when undertaken were normal. Although ultrasonography and computed tomography were used in some cases, arteriography was the definitive mode of investigation.