The Efficiency of Preoperative Embolization in the Management of Shamblin Type III Carotid Body Tumor: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Background This study aims to determine the efficacy and safety of preoperative embolization in the management of Shamblin type III carotid body tumors (CBT). Method In this retrospective study, patients with Shamblin type III CBT were included between January 2005 and January 2017. A total of 48 Patients were divided into preoperative embolization (SRE, n = 25) and non-preoperative embolization group (SR, n = 23). Result Mean surgical time (145.24 +/- 19.86 min vs 186.91 +/- 17.808 min, P < 0.05) and intraoperative blood loss (271.4 +/- 73.001 mL vs 380.36 +/- 39.822 mL, P < 0.05) were markedly reduced in the SRE group compared with SR group. The preoperative tumor volume in the SRE group was larger than that in the SR group, but the volume was similar between the two groups after surgery. The number of tumor residual cases was higher in the SR group. The incidence of complications and duration of hospitalization were comparable between the two groups. Conclusion This study demonstrates the efficacy of preoperative embolization in reducing the duration of surgery and volume of blood loss during the process of CBT resection. More prospective, well-designed studies are urgently needed to validate the current findings.