Carotid Body Tumor

jmlmiller

Hello! I am new to the board. This month I was diagnosed with a Carotid Body Tumor. I am currently 25 years old.

I am having surgery on the 3rd for removal & biopsy. I saw some older postings on the board and was seeking to hear about similiar experiences.

Did you have complications? If so what?
How old were you when you had surgery?
What was the approximate size of the tumor?
How long was your in hospital recovery time?
How long did it take you to get your strength and energy back after the surgery?
At 1 week post op what were you able to do?
At 2 weeks post op what were you able to do?

My doctor gave me a 3 to 6 day in hospital time frame and then nothing really specific about the out of hospital recovery time.

Thanks for any further information that you can provide.

TereB

Do you know anything about this type of tumor? If not, please inform yourself.

The type of surgery, recovery and after surgery treatment depend on the size of the tumor and age of patient. Each person is different.

These are usually bening tumors but surgery is sometimes complicated, depending on what is found.

Some people need a feeding tube after surgery.

Some people have a carotid arteriography before surgery for a preoperative evaluation.

Many have an embolization before surgery.

Depending on what is found during surgery, many patients have radiation treatment after surgery. Sometimes it is done because sometimes these tumors tend to recur.

I had a glomus jugulare turmor removed in 1987; different tumor from carotid but same type. Procedures have changed over the years.

Recovery is different for everybody, again, it depends on the surgery.

Since this is a rare tumor, I suggest that you inform yourself and also make sure your doctor has experience with this type of tumor.

I hope all goes well for you and that recovery is really 3-6 days in the hospital.

God Bless