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Abstract
Blunt craniocervical trauma may produce carotid artery stenosis and occlusion with
delayed and unusual clinical manifestations. This condition is illustrated by two
patients with traumatic intimal tears, presenting with transient neurologic deficit
or asymptomatic bruits several months or years after injury. Such injuries usually
follow cranial trauma which stretches the carotid artery by sudden extension and counter-rotation
of the head or by direct blunt trauma to the carotid bifurcation. The hallmark of
such blunt carotid artery injury is the delayed onset of symptoms, which usually result
from an intimal flap and subsequent embolic phenomena. While the symptoms are generally
those of carotid insufficiency, a diagnosis of cervical carotid trauma is seldom made
clinically because the entity is easily confused with intracranial injury. Aggressive
angiographic evaluation and recent improvements in the safety of carotid artery surgery
should improve the otherwise poor prognosis for those patients correctly diagnosed
in whom operation is properly timed and performed.
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
January 7,
1974
Identification
Copyright
© 1974 Published by Elsevier Inc.
