Role of FNAC in the Diagnosis of Carotid Body Paraganglioma

This is a case of carotid body paraganglioma diagnosed on fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology prior to other diagnostic work up. A lateral neck mass with a long duration, the hemorrhagic nature of the aspirate and the cytological features; some of which were reminiscent of an endocrine neoplasm are the factors that helped in suggesting the possibility of paraganglioma which was later confirmed in histopathology. We report this case to highlight two points: 1) the importance of FNAC in diagnosing such lesions in clinically obscure cases. 2) In FNAC of neck lesions, if paraganglioma is suspected, preparation of a cell block along with immunohistochemistry in cases wherever possible will prove useful for the definitive diagnosis of paraganglioma.