Abstract:

Carotid artery dissection, firstly described by Pratt-Thomas and Berger in 1947, typically begins in inner layer of artery wall, proceeds to the middle layer, and intramurally extends along length of the artery as a result of the pressure produced by blood stream. This study aims to report a case in which internal carotid artery dissection was diagnosed as secondary to trauma. A 24-year-old male patient was brought to the emergency room by 112 emergency service team after a motorcycle accident. Physical examination of the patient revealed a painful dermabrasion in his right neck region and other system examinations were normal. Carotid-vertebral color Doppler ultrasonography was performed on the patient because he had a right neck pain. Accordingly, an intimal flap appearance compatible with dissection was observed on the right internal carotid artery (ICA) proximal segment. Then, brain+cervical CT angiography was performed on the patient, and an appearance compatible with dissection was observed in the right ICA. Therefore, the patient was referred to neurology and neurosurgery consultation and accordingly admitted to neurosurgery intensive care unit. As a result, carotid artery dissection in addition to other intracranial pathologies should be considered among differential diagnoses for patients with head and/or neck pain complaints regardless of whether or not they have a trauma history.

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