Neurological Manifestations of Paragangliomas of the Head and Neck

This paper will outline the clinical neurologic presentation and diagnostic evaluation of patients with paragangliomas of the head and neck. Contemporary management options will be outlined for these rare and complex tumors.

The majority of recent publications and research on these tumors are dedicated to traditional and robotic image-guided radiosurgery in the treatment of head and neck paragangliomas. Paragangliomas are rare, slow-growing tumors of the head and neck which usually cause silent cranial nerve deficits or compensated mild speech or swallowing symptoms. While radiologic surveillance is often the best treatment option, subtotal resection with case-specific radiosurgery is commonly used in patients with large tumors.