Successful Surgical Management of Giant, Shamblin III Carotid Body Tumor (CBT) on a Male With 5 Years of Follow-Up: Case Report and Literature Review on Giant CBT.

Background: Carotid body tumor (CBT) is a rare neoplasm that arises from the chemoreceptor cells located at the carotid bifurcation. Giant CBTs are extremely rare, with only 16 cases reported to date.

Case summary: A 63-year-old male with an unremarkable medical history presented with a right-sided, giant, Shamblin III CBT. For 20 years, he had been suffering from progressive dyspnea, dysphonia, and pain with left neck rotation. A computed tomography scan confirmed its dimension of 89 × 61 × 60 mm (height × width × depth). We performed our routine retrocarotid dissection technique (RCDT) without preoperative embolization. Histopathology reported an encapsulated, non-epithelial neuroendocrine neoplasm with architectural Zellballen pattern. His postoperative period was uneventful and was discharged home on day 2. At 5 years, he remains symptom-free without neoplasm recurrence.

Conclusion: This case illustrates the atypical clinical presentation and the successful treatment of a giant, Shamblin III CBT with the RCDT without preoperative embolization.