A Case of Bilateral Carotid Body Tumors

Sporadic bilateral carotid body tumors are a rare paraganglioma of the head and neck that are often asymptomatic and incidentally found during workup for other pathologies. These tumors arise from the chemoreceptor organ located at the carotid bifurcation and can be locally invasive, resulting in the involvement of adjacent neurovascular structures. With the majority of bilateral carotid body tumors having an association with familial syndromes, such as MEN2 or Von Hippel Lindau, the incidence of sporadic bilateral disease is exceedingly rare. In this case report, we report a case of bilateral carotid body tumors in a 54-year-old female with anxiety and tachycardia who underwent MRI and CTA evaluation showing evidence of left greater than right carotid body tumors. The patient was managed operatively in a staged fashion with a resolution of her presenting symptoms and no post-operative morbidity or mortality. Pathologic examination of the bilateral masses confirmed evidence of paraganglioma with immunohistochemical stains showing neoplastic cells positive for synaptophysin, chromogranin, and S100 without lymph node involvement.