Multiple paragangliomas involving carotid body and vagal region

Abstract

Paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine tumors also known to occur in the head-and-neck regions and generally involve the carotid body or vagal region. Till date, only a single study has reported the occurrence of paragangliomas involving both the carotid body and vagal region. The present study, to the best of our knowledge, is the second study in the world which reported the multiple paragangliomas involving the carotid body and vagal region. The patient in the present case study was a 45-year-old male with a single swelling in the left upper part of the neck. In the preoperative clinical examination, the swelling was identified as carotid body tumor, and the patient was then planned for surgery. The intra-operative findings revealed that it involved both the vagal and carotid body and was subsequently operated successfully. Postoperatively, the swelling was described as bilateral carotid paragangliomas with left vagal paraganglioma.