Treatment for glomus tumors usually means surgical resection in properly selected patients based upon their general health, age, and tumor size. Larger glomus tumors may be preoperatively prepared with embolization to block blood supply to reduce operating time and blood loss. Interventional radiologists skilled in this extremely helpful technique perform embolization.

If the tumor is very large and abuts on the adjacent carotid artery, which also supplies areas of the brain, further evaluation regarding collateral blood supply to the brain may be required.

Surgical approaches to these tumors are varied mostly depending on the tumor size and affected adjacent structures. Preservation or return of function in impaired structures is individualized, depending on the extent of tumor invasion of given structures and possible reconstructive options. These will be discussed thoroughly in your preoperative counseling sessions after appropriate information is collected to enable this discussion to take place.

Elderly, fragile, medically unsuitable patients or those unwilling to undergo surgery may be treated with radiation or a combination of limited surgery and radiation therapy. These options will also be reviewed in detail after appropriate information about your health and the tumor is obtained.