Aberrant Internal Carotid Artery in the Temporal Bone

Abstract

To describe the clinical and radiological features of the vascular anomaly aberrant internal carotid artery (ICA) in the temporal bone and to discuss management strategies. Design: Retrospective study. Patients: Sixteen cases of aberrant ICA were diagnosed between 1982 and 2003. Results: Of 16 cases, 11 were recognized by imaging assessment, 4 were recognized during middle ear surgery, and 1 was recognized clinically. Among the 11 cases, 8 malformations were diagnosed because of otologic symptoms related to the abnormal ICA or chronic otitis, while the other 3 were identified incidentally because of an underlying accompanying disease. In 4 cases, the diagnosis was made during surgery related to chronic otitis media (n=2) or conductive hearing loss (n=2). In these 4 cases, massive bleeding resulted from surgical injury to the vessel. Packing the external auditory canal and the middle ear

Bilateral aberrant internal carotid arteries: A case report presenting with pulsatile middle ear discharge

“…But as a difference from the glomus tumor, the mass is anterior, pulsatile and white or rosy. Patient may have normal hearing or conductive hearing loss in audiometry [3,7] On otoscopic examination, we observed a central perforation and pulsatile discharge from the middle ear and a red polypoid mass. The right tympanic membrane was intact with a retrotympanic pulsatile mass synchronising with the heart beat.…”

A Potentially Catastrophic Anatomical Variation: Aberrant Internal Carotid Artery in the Middle Ear Cavity

“…Hearing loss is the most common presenting symptom; others include pulsatile tinnitus, serous otitis media, otalgia, and aural fullness [3, 6, 8]. In this case, the only symptoms were conductive hearing loss and aural fullness.…”

Management of Aberrant Internal Carotid Artery Injury Caused During Otologic Procedures: Systematic Review and Multicenter Case Series

“…Interventional treatment, including parent vessel occlusion, offers definitive control of hemorrhage and addresses pseudoaneurysms effectively, as corroborated in multiple studies. It can be achieved by either endovascular coiling [ 1 , 3 , 19 , 20 ], vascular plug [ 27 ], or balloon occlusion [ 25 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Since detachable balloons are mostly not available anymore [ 31 ] and vascular plugs may be difficult to place in tortuous anatomies, platin coils represent the most versatile tool for parent vessel occlusions.…”