Baroreceptor failure syndrome after bilateral carotid body tumor surgery

A 41-year-old healthy man was diagnosed with bilateral carotid body tumors. The patient had a staged surgical removal of the tumors approximately 8 months apart. Postoperative recovery was uneventful after removal of the first and largest tumor; however, after removal of the second tumor, the patient developed tachycardia and hypertension. He was diagnosed with baroreceptor failure syndrome after ruling out other possible causes. Baroreceptor failure syndrome is a rare and important complication known to be associated with many conditions, one of them being inadvertent baroreceptor denervation during bilateral carotid body tumor resection. Medical management of this condition is necessary to prevent cerebrovascular events; thus, it is important for the surgeon and the internist to recognize and treat it aggressively.