Anesthetic management of carotid body tumor excision: A case report and brief review

Carotid body tumor (CBT) is a rare tumor, which arises at bifurcation of carotid artery from chemoreceptor cells. These cells sense the partial pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide from the blood. Hence, carotid body plays an important role in the control of ventilation during hypoxia, hypercapnia, and acidosis. The tumor arising from these cells is benign and has tendency to turn out malignant. This tumor is found in persons who live at high altitudes. Removal of tumor poses several anesthetic challenges and perioperative morbidity or mortality. We report successful anesthetic management of CBT excision.