[An interdisciplinary therapy concept in treatment of paragangliomas of the skull base--demonstrated with a case]

Surgical resection of paragangliomas in the cervical region is complicated due to the tumour vascularity and is associated with the risk of major intraoperative blood loss. Preoperative angiographic embolization of the tumour supplying arteries by intravascular injection of gelfoam and implantation of microcoils was performed to decrease tumour vascularity. We report the case of a 78 years old female patient suffering from a carotid body tumour. Computed tomography demonstrated spreading of the tumour from the carotid bifurcation up to the base of the skull. Primary surgical resection was aborted because of the bleeding tendency of the tumour. Tumour embolization was required in order to achieve the therapeutic aim of a complete extirpation of tumourous tissue by preserving the vascular system of the internal carotid artery. The reported case is completed by a review of literature.