Treatment of carotid body tumors most frequently consists of:

C. Resection of the common, internal, and external carotid arteries with interposition grafting.

D. Subadventitial dissection of the carotid bifurcation and simple excision of the tumor.

DISCUSSION: Malignant carotid body tumors are uncommon. They are treated either by limited resection of the structures involved with the tumor or by radiation therapy. Although radiation therapy has been demonstrated to shrink some tumors, it should be used only for the rare tumor that is unresectable. Most tumors are benign and can be separated from the wall of the carotid artery without resection of the bifurcation. Such resection is possible because the tumor is located in a plane outside the media. Therefore, upon creation of a subadventitial plane, one can separate the tumor from the carotid artery bifurcation without entering the vessel.