Pulmonary metastases in a bilateral carotid body paraganglioma

We report the case of a bilateral carotid body paraganglioma which gave metastases to the lung parenchyma; the rarity of diffuse visceral spread is emphasised in this article. The patient was a 69-year-old woman operated for a right carotid body paraganglioma in 1997. In August 2002, a recurrent left carotid body paraganglioma was resected. Three months later she started presenting minimum hemoptysis and pulmonary tumours were detected during a routine chest roentgenographic examination. A right upper lobectomy and a wedge resection in the lower lobe were performed to remove them. Grossly, the greatest tumour measured 3.3x2.5x2.3cm and was well circumscribed and subpleural. It was histologically confirmed that these pulmonary tumours were metastases from the primary paraganglioma.