1/21. Bilateral carotid body paraganglioma: case report.CONTEXT: Surgical treatment of carotid body paragangliomas is a challenge to the surgeon because of the large vascularization of the tumor, involvement of the carotid vessels and the close anatomical relationship with the cranial nerves. CASE REPORT: A 63-year-old patient was submitted to resection of two carotid body paraganglioma tumors found in the right-side and left-side carotid bodies at the bifurcation of the common carotid arteries. Two surgeries were performed at different times and neither of them presented any morbidity. Arteriography was fundamental for diagnosis of the small, asymptomatic tumor on the right side. DESIGN: Case Report- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/21. paraganglioma as a systemic syndrome: pitfalls and strategies.Tumours of the neuroendocrine system in the head and neck region are mostly paragangliomas of the glomus tympanicum or jugulare, or of the carotid body. The majority of these tumours are benign, and the coexistence of multiple paragangliomas seems to be rare. Pre-operative embolization and surgery are regarded as primary therapy for these tumours. The treatment regimen in any patient depends on age, general health, hearing status and the function of the lower cranial nerves. Several presentations are possible in which paragangliomas occur as systemic disease. 1. Paragangliomas may occur bilaterally, or, in rare cases, in multiple areas. Pre-operative bilateral angiography is of utmost importance. In case of multicentricity, it might be necessary to proceed without, or just with, unilateral surgery for preservation of adjacent structures. In surgery of jugular vein paraganglioma, we usually perform a modified transmastoidal and transcervical approach with preservation of middle-ear structures and the ossicles. As an alternative or supplement to surgery, radiotherapy or definitive embolization may be used in the treatment of paragangliomas. 2. Paragangliomas may occur as multiple endocrine neoplasia (men) syndrome combined with medullary thyroid gland carcinoma, and, facultatively, pheochromocytoma. In these cases, endocrinological examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the adrenal region, the thorax and the neck are required for an adequate therapeutic strategy. As men may be inherited, family history should be evaluated. 3. Paragangliomas can became malignant and metastasize. Thus, cervical lymph node metastases or distant metastases may occur. We recommend the removal of all ipsilateral lymph nodes and their histological examination.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/21. baroreflex failure syndrome after bilateral excision of carotid body tumors: an underestimated problem.Carotid body tumors (CBTs) are relatively rare paragangliomas that develop from neural crest cells at the bifurcation of the common carotid artery. They are generally slow growing and benign. Excision is currently considered the treatment of choice, although vascular and especially neural injuries are still relatively frequent in patients with large or bilaterally resected tumors. The baroreflex failure syndrome (BFS) has recently been identified as a severe, rarely recognized, and certainly underestimated complication after the bilateral excision of CBTs. The present report describes a case of a bilateral CBT followed by BFS and reviews the experiences reported in the literature. In light of the low incidence of malignancy of these tumors, their biologic behavior, their very high rate of cranial nerve palsy, and the occurrence of BFS in bilaterally resected paragangliomas, the current practice of bilaterally removing these tumors is questioned.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/21. Cervical sympathetic chain schwannomas masquerading as carotid body tumors.Cervical sympathetic chain (CSC) schwannoma is a rare neurogenic tumor that can mimic a carotid body tumor (CBT). Two male patients aged 33 and 49 years old were referred for a cervical mass thought to be a CBT. Both patients were found to have an asymptomatic, pulsatile, nontender mass located at the level of the angle of the mandible. Both patients were neurologically asymptomatic and cranial nerves were normal. Both patients underwent neck exploration and resection of the mass involving the CSC. Postoperatively, a Horner's syndrome was present. Histopathology confirmed both tumors to be schwannomas of the CSC. At follow-up, both patients are asymptomatic with no recurrence. The main imaging criterion to differentiate a CBT from a CSC schwannoma is the lack of hypervascularity of the latter. Malignant transformation is extremely rare. Tumor excision gives excellent results with no local recurrence. Horner's syndrome is an expected postoperative complication.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/21. Schwannoma with angiosarcoma. Report of a case and comparison with other types of nerve tumors with angiosarcoma.BACKGROUND: Schwannoma with angiosarcomatous change is a rare tumor, the clinical characteristics of which have not been analyzed. methods: A patient with schwannoma with angiosarcoma arising in the midneck and clinically mimicking a carotid body paraganglioma is described with a literature review of all previously reported cases and a comparison of their clinical features with those of schwannoma with conventional malignant transformation and cases of neurofibroma and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) with angiosarcoma. RESULTS: There are four reported cases, including the present case. Schwannoma with angiosarcoma affects older adults, mainly men. Three tumors arose from the vagus nerve in the neck. Three of the four angiosarcomas were epithelioid in type. Treatment in all cases was surgical resection followed by radiation and chemotherapy in one case and by radiation alone in another. One patient died with residual local angiosarcoma 5 months after the diagnosis. The remaining three patients were alive and disease free at 27 months, 43 months, and 90 months, with distant metastasis (after 15 months) reported only in the patient described in this case report. CONCLUSIONS: Schwannoma with angiosarcoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of presumed carotid body paragangliomas. Like angiosarcoma alone and schwannoma with conventional malignant transformation, but unlike cases of neurofibroma and MPNST with angiosarcoma, the patients are older adults, and there is a male prevalence. Schwannoma with angiosarcoma is capable of local spread with a fatal outcome and of distant metastasis, but follow-up strongly suggests that these patients have a better prognosis than patients with neurofibroma or MPNST with angiosarcoma. Recommended treatment is attempted complete surgical resection followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy, if it can be tolerated by the patient.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 6keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/21. Glomus faciale, glomus jugulare, glomus tympanicum, glomus vagale, carotid body tumors, and simulating lesions. role of MR imaging.In summary, MR imaging characteristics of a case of paraganglioma of the facial nerve are reported. The relationship of paragangliomas and the chromaffin system have been discussed. There are many reports of cases of synchronous paragangliomas and pheochromocytomas. These reports, along with simultaneous involvement in familial men syndromes, and the common embrylogic origin (neural crest) and similar histopathologic relationships between paragangliomas and pheochromocytoma, all support the fact that they are part of the chromaffin system.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/21. Carotid body tumors: the role of preoperative embolization.Resection of carotid body tumors (neck paragangliomas) carries inherent risks of injury to the cranial nerves and other structures as well excessive blood loss. Preoperative embolization has been used to lessen the morbidity in tumors that are larger than 2 cm in diameter. Two female patients presented for treatment with large asymptomatic carotid body tumors-one 4 cm and one 5 cm in diameter. Both patients had preoperative angiography the day before surgery that revealed the feeding arterial vessels so that successful embolization could be accomplished with gel. Success was judged by diminution of the angiographic blush. Both patients had an uneventful surgical excision the following day with the carotid body tumors being able to be resected periadventitially without damage to either the external or internal carotid artery. The cranial nerves were preserved in both patients and blood loss was only 200 cc in both cases. We conclude that preoperative embolization is an important adjunct in treating patients with large carotid body tumors. The surgical exploration proceeds much smoother, the blood loss is minimal, and patients have minimal morbidity.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/21. carotid body tumor associated with differentiated thyroid carcinoma.We report a case of a carotid body tumor associated with a primary differentiated thyroid carcinoma. A 44-year-old woman presented with a 10-year history of an asymptomatic mass in her neck. physical examination revealed a pulsatile submandibular mass in her right neck as well as multiple nodules in the thyroid. magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and, in particular, angiography were diagnostic of the carotid body tumor. Slight changes in serum thyroglobulin levels and thyroid scintigraphy led us to suspect thyroid carcinoma. Embolization of the arteries feeding the carotid body tumor was performed, and was followed by tumor resection 24 h later. At surgery, histopathology confirmed the presence of follicular and papillary carcinomas of the thyroid, resulting in concurrent resection of the gland. There were no residual cranial nerve deficits. The patient subsequently received radiotherapy. diagnosis and surgical management are discussed, together with pathogenetic factors.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/21. An unusual bilateral cervical paraganglioma: a case report.Paragangliomas are neoplasms originating from paraganglion tissue derived from mesoderm, the most common location being adjacent to carotid bifurcation. Rarely these tumours can be bilateral. We present here a case of bilateral paraganglioma occurring in a young woman. On one side the tumour was arising from the vagus nerve and on the other, from the carotid body. Clinical, radiological and histopathological features and treatment dilemmas are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/21. The value of flow cytometric analysis in multicentric glomus tumors of the head and neck.Glomus tumors of the head and neck include those arising from the carotid body, jugular vein, and vagus nerve. Because these cannot be differentiated histologically, when encountering a large tumor mass involving more than one structure in the carotid sheath, one often cannot be sure whether the tumors are from one or more of these structures. The authors performed dna flow cytometric analysis on a patient with a multicentric glomus tumor on the right side of the neck involving the carotid body, jugular vein, and vagus nerve, in an effort to determine the separate or similar origin of her tumor mass. Different dna indices, including a double peak for the carotid body tumor, were obtained. There were three aneuploid tumors and one diploid tumor (dna indices: carotid body 1.78, 2.04; jugular vein 2.20; vagus nerve 1.82). Different synthetic phase fractions were calculated for each aneuploid tumor except the second carotid body peak (carotid body 7.2; jugular vein 3.6; vagus nerve 4.8). The authors conclude that dna flow cytometry may be useful in confirming the multicentric origin of tumors that encompass more than one histologically similar structure.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 4keywords = nerve (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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