Combined endovascular and surgical treatment of carotid body tumor in a patient with thoracic situs solitus

BACKGROUND: Chemodectomas of the head and neck are tumors that originate from the neural crest. The authors report a case of carotid body tumor with chronic hypoxia secondary to congenital cyanogenic cardiac malformation, radiologically and surgically treated. METHODS AND RESULTS: A 37-year-old woman presented 1-year history of a slow-growing right lateral-cervical swelling. Radiologic examination led to a suspicion of carotid body tumor. Her history revealed thoracic situs solitus and a complex congenital heart disease. She was hospitalized for a selective angiography of the cervical vessels. Twenty-four hours later, the tumor was completely removed under local anesthesia. One year later, there were no signs of recurrence, and the patient showed a correct hemodynamic compensation. CONCLUSIONS: The choice of surgical resection with selective preoperative embolization, which induced the obliteration of the feeder vessels, devascularizing the tumor and avoiding significant intraoperative bleeding, was successful.