Metachronous and Sporadic Bilateral Carotid Body Paraganglioma.
Valerio Facchini, Iacopo Iachini, Evaristo Belli
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
Case in brief
A patient developed a left carotid body paraganglioma 26 years after presentation with a contralateral tumor. The left-sided lesion was surgically excised, and histological and immunohistochemical examination confirmed the diagnosis. Postoperative dysphonia and dysphagia were transient and had resolved after 1 year; no cardiac anomalies were detected.
What made this case unusual
The contralateral tumor presented metachronously 26 years after the first carotid body paraganglioma, illustrating that bilateral disease may emerge after a prolonged interval.
Diagnostic / clinical pearl
A remote history of carotid body paraganglioma does not exclude a later contralateral lesion; new symptoms warrant assessment for another tumor, with diagnosis confirmed histologically after excision.
Why it matters
The report emphasizes that delayed contralateral presentation can occur even after many years and that early detection may reduce neurovascular complications if the tumor is operated on at an early stage.