An analysis from the CAPACITY database of outcomes of preoperative embolization before carotid body tumor surgery compared with resection alone.

Objective: There is no definitive consensus on the impact of preoperative embolization on carotid body tumor (CBT) treatment. The objective of this study was to compare surgical outcomes of patients who underwent preoperative embolization before CBT resection vs patients who underwent resection alone.

Methods: The CAPACITY registry included 1432 patients with CBT from 11 medical centers in four different countries. The group of patients undergoing CBT resection with preoperative embolization was matched in a 1:6 ratio from a pool of patients from the CAPACITY database, using a generated propensity score with patients who did not underwent preoperative embolization.

Results: A total of 553 patients were included for analysis. Mean patient age was 56.23 ± 12.22 years. Patients were mostly female (n = 469; 84.8%). Bilateral CBT was registered in 60 patients (10.8%). Seventy-nine patients (14.3%) underwent preoperative embolization. Embolized patients had larger CBT sizes than non-embolized patients (33.8 mm vs 18.4 mm; P = .0001). Operative blood loss was lower in the embolized group compared with the non-embolized group (200 mL vs 250 mL; P = .031). Hematomas were more frequent in the non-embolized group (0% vs 2.7%; P = .044). Operative time, rates of stroke, cranial nerve injuries, and death were not statistically significant between groups.

Conclusions: Embolization before CBT resection was associated with significantly lower blood loss and lower neck hematomas than patients who underwent resection alone. Operative time, stroke, cranial nerve injuries, and death were similar between groups.