Presentation
Slowly growing neck mass.
Patient Data
Age: 40 years
Gender: Female
From the case:
Carotid body tumor
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Axial C+ arterial phase
Large soft tissue mass is seen at the right carotid bifurcation showing avid enhancement of contrast the same as adjacent arteries and splaying the internal/external carotid arteries (lyre sign).
Diagnosis: paraganglioma of the neck (carotid body tumor)
Case Discussion
Carotid body tumor is a extremely vascular paraganglioma arising from the carotid body which locates at the carotid bifurcation. Splaying of internal and external carotid artery helps to differentiate it from other tumors e.g. vagal schwannoma, vagal neurofibroma and glomus vagale. The patient underwent preoperative embolization followed by surgical resection and the diagnosis of paraganglioma was confirmed.