The carotid body is a small mass of tissue inside the carotid bifurcation that reacts to the body's level of oxygen. In rare cases, the carotid body may develop a tumor known as a chemodectoma or paraganglioma. These tumors can vary in size and, typically, they are benign. Although carotid body tumors usually are painless and slow growing, they may cause a compression syndrome that results in symptoms such as dysphagia. The treatment of choice for many carotid body tumors is surgical removal, but there are risks involved with resecting these tumors because of their close location to the carotid vessels and cranial nerves. The use of newer imaging modalities to allow earlier detection of carotid body tumors and careful surgical technique can decrease the complications associated with this challenging surgical procedure.
Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) affords patients the opportunity to undergo a less invasive method of repairing abdominal aortic aneurysms. The EVAR procedure results in a shorter hospital stay, less pain, and less chance of morbidity. This procedure can be performed in a variety of settings (eg, OR, interventional radiology suite, cardiac catheterization laboratory), each of which has its own benefits and challenges. Recently, hybrid ORs have been designed to perform both endovascular and open procedures. AORN has many applicable recommended practices to guide perioperative nurses in the safe provision of care during EVAR procedures.
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