Syncope due to parapharyngeal space lesions syncope-syndrome

The clinic association between tumors in the neck and syncopal attacks has been well documented but uncommon. The pathogenesis of this type of syncope has been attributed to an specific sinus node disfunction and several diseases that affect pacemaker activity, cardiac output and blood supply to the brain are able to produce it. The most common reflex cardiovascular sindromes linked to the IX nerve are carotid sinus syndrome and glossopharyngeal neuralgia-asystole syndrome. Some patients with a pathological involvement of the parapharyngeal space also suffers from syncope but the clinical picture of these patients differs so greatly from the other two syndromes, which suggests specific aetiological, clinical and therapeutical features so the term "parapharyngeal space lesiones syncope-syndrome" has been proposed for this entity. We report a case of a patient with a neck tumor in the parapharyngeal space with syncope as the major symptom.