Bilateral aberrant internal carotid arteries discovered during myringotomy: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

The aberrant course of the intratympanic carotid artery is a rare congenital vascular anomaly. We report the case of a 7-year-old patient who presented with bilateral conductive hearing loss, originally attributed to otitis media with effusion. After myringotomy, massive pulsatile bleeding occurred on the right side. The bleeding was successfully controlled with packing without any residual complication. Imaging confirmed aberrant internal carotid arteries abutting the tympanic membranes bilaterally.