Echo-color Doppler and echo-Doppler in the diagnosis of carotid body tumors

Echo-Doppler and Color Flow Doppler examinations, are able to combine the advantages offered by echography with those had with the Doppler exam. In the presence of tumours of the carotid body, these exams can furnish morphological data with regard to tumor size, its precise location and its rapport with contiguous organ as well as data regarding blood flow in the mass itself. The color Flow Doppler exam, in particular, can reveal the echographic aspect and the flow toward and away from the sonde all on the same image. This enables a precise diagnosis of a tumor of the carotid body to be reached even without angiography. The personal experience here reported involves ten cases observed during the last seven years.