Efficacy and safety of preoperative embolization in carotid body tumor treatment: A propensity score matching retrospective cohort study

Background: To assess the efficacy and safety of preoperative embolization (PE) in patients with carotid body tumor (CBTs).

Methods: In a single-center retrospective cohort study, 127 patients underwent surgical resection of CBTs from January 2003 to December 2019. One-to-one propensity score matching was conducted between patients with or without PE.

Results: Thirty-two (25.2%) patients received PE. After propensity score matching, no statistically significant differences were found in the baseline characteristics of 28 patients in each group. Compared with NPE group, operative time and estimated blood loss (EBL) were significantly reduced in the PE group. The incidence of stroke, perioperative complications, intraoperative blood transfusion, vascular reconstruction, hospital stay, tumor recurrence, and all-cause mortality were not different between the PE and NPE group.

Conclusions: Preoperative embolization was efficient and safe with a reduction of intraoperative blood loss and operative time during CBT resection.