Chemodectomas of the Carotid Body and Glomus Tympanicum: Sequential Occurrence in Sisters

CHEMODECTOMA of the carotid body is uncommon; fewer than 550 cases have been reported. A familial tendency toward development of chemodectomas in the contralateral carotid body or in other sites where chemoreceptor tissue is found has been documented. This familial occurrence and the tendency of chemodectomas of the carotid body to be bilateral or multiple when patients have relatives with chemodectomas deserve emphasis. We have treated two sisters for tumors of the glomus tympanicum who returned several years later with carotid body tumors. Report of Cases Case 1.— A 47-year-old woman noted a sense of fullness in her left ear in 1960. She was examined in South Carolina, and a tumor of the glomus tympanicum was located and excised. She underwent three subsequent excisions and was seen by one of us (M.L.L.) in 1969; an excision of a recurrent tumor of the glomus tympanicum was performed. Six months later she