Updated by Piper Wenzel, BS April 2024
- Also known as glomus vagale paraganglioma, vagal body tumor, vagal chemodectoma, glomus vagale
- Rare benign tumor arising from "paraganglionic tissue within the vagal nerve's perineurium" (Ozdemir 2024)
- Most common tumor of post-styloid parapharyngeal space (Ikram 2024)
- Can cause vocal cord paralysis leading to hoarseness and mass effect (Ikram 2024)
- Pushes internal jugular vein posterolaterally, pushes internal carotid artery anteromedially (Ikram 2024)
- CT and MRI are sensitive due to increased vascularity (Ikram 2024)
- On CT: muscle density with non-contrast; intense enhancement with contrast
- Look for enhancement on CT with contrast and "salt and pepper" appearance on T1 MR
- On MR: "pepper" (black dots) and "salt" appearance (white dots - uncommon) on T1, hyperintense and good spread definition on post-contrast T1
- Treatment is generally surgical excision; may result in speech and swallowing deficits (Ozdemir 2024)
References
Ozdemir NG, Yilmaz H, Atci IB, Karaoglu AC, Turk O, Gedik AA, Kocak A. Parapharyngeal Prestyloid Vagal Paraganglioma. Turk Neurosurg. 2024;34(1):167-170. doi: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.40702-22.2. PMID: 37846532.
Ikram A, Rehman A. Paraganglioma. 2022 Sep 5. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 31751024.