title: Surgical resection of carotid body paragangliomas: 10 years of experience.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Carotid body tumors (CBTs) are relatively rare neoplasms, and even if they are considered predominantly benign, there is an indication for early surgical removal. The objective of this study was to conduct a review of the surgical management of CBTs.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study identified 34 cases (12 men and 19 women) of tumors in patients who had undergone surgical resection of pathologically confirmed CBTs over a period of 10 years from 2001 to 2011 in 2 academic departments of general surgery in Italy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In our series, 10 CBTs (31%) were Shamblin class I, 13 (41%) were class II, and 9 tumors (27%) were class III. Two patients (6%) had transient cerebral ischemia immediately after operation. One patient (3%) died of postoperative cerebral ischemia after surgery for internal carotid artery thrombosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The experience of this casuistry shows that the procedure is relatively low risk for Shamblin I and II classes, whereas there is an increasing risk of neurovascular complications for Shamblin III class.
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Geriatric, Oncologic Surgery and Advanced Technologies, University of Naples "Federico II," Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Amato
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Geriatric, Oncologic Surgery and Advanced Technologies, University of Naples "Federico II," Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bianco
authors.affiliation: Department of General, Geriatric, Oncologic Surgery and Advanced Technologies, University of Naples "Federico II," Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Compagna
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Cytopathology, University of Naples "Federico II," Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siano
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Cardiovascular and Immunological Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II," Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Science, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Viale Europa, Località Germaneto 88100, Catanzaro, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Buffone
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Science, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Viale Europa, Località Germaneto 88100, Catanzaro, Italy. Electronic address: rserra@unicz.it.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Serra
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Science, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Viale Europa, Località Germaneto 88100, Catanzaro, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: de Franciscis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002345:Carotid Body Tumor / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Carotid body tumor; Head and neck surgery; Paraganglioma