Management of vagal paraganglioma: is operative resection really the best option?

Vagal paragangliomas cannot be resected without sacrifice of the vagal nerve. The risk of bilateral vocal cord palsy has been reason to postpone treatment of this benign and slow growing neoplasm in hereditary cases. Postponement could be considered for solitary cases as well.

An institute-based review of 48 patients with vagal paragangliomas over the past 30 years was performed.

Forty-eight patients with 58 vagal paragangliomas were studied. All but 4 patients had multiple paragangliomas and should be considered hereditary cases. The 10 patients that underwent an operation lost the vagal nerve; 60% of them had additional cranial nerve palsy postoperatively. In the group of patients who were followed for an average period of 8.5 years, 3 patients (8%) developed cranial nerve palsy.

Aggressive treatment of vagal paragangliomas leads to unnecessary early loss of vagal nerve function. A period of clinical and radiologic follow-up preceding an operation may lead to prolonged preservation of voice and swallowing functions in these patients, without grave consequences for other lower cranial nerves.