Beware of carotid body aneurysms for neck lumps

  The carotid artery is divided into the internal and external carotid arteries at the beginning of the jaw angle of the neck. At its bifurcation, there is a carotid body the size of a green bean, which is a chemoreceptor mainly used to sense the concentration of carbon dioxide and pH (acidity and alkalinity) in the blood, thus regulating itself. A tumor originating from this carotid body is called a carotid body aneurysm. This disease is very rare because of its special location in the bifurcation of the carotid artery, which is rich in cranial nerve distribution and blood supply, and the slow growth of the tumor often wraps around the large carotid artery, so the surgery is very likely to damage the nerves there and bleed easily. Therefore, the surgery to remove carotid aneurysm can be said to be one of the most dangerous and complicated surgeries in the neck.  After CT examination, the doctor found that Miss Xu’s tumor had completely encircled the large artery of the neck. After making all preparations, the doctor operated on her and found that the tumor was about the size of an egg and was cherry red. The tumor was found to be about the size of an egg, cherry red in color. It was also like a “big hornet’s nest” sandwiched between the trees, tightly wrapped around the large blood vessels, difficult to separate and bleeding when touched. As the tumor encroached on the internal carotid artery, reconstruction surgery was performed on the blood vessel.  According to Director Zhang Xicheng, carotid body aneurysm is a very rare disease that originates from the carotid body and is mostly a benign lesion, but about 5% can develop into malignant. Because of its special location and great surgical risk, many surgeons are respectful of this type of tumor once found should be operated early, otherwise the risk of surgery will increase greatly with the increase of the tumor body.