Case ReportSubclavian Carotid Bypass of Occluded Common and Internal Carotid Arteries Facilitated by an Anomalous Branch of the Internal Carotid Artery
Section snippets
Case Report
A 64-year-old man presented with a 4-month history of multiple episodes of near syncope and repetitive amaurosis fugax of the right eye. He was a heavy smoker despite having undergone chemotherapy and radiation for squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx 9 years earlier.
A carotid duplex ultrasound showed occlusion of the right common carotid artery (CCA) and ICA, but did not identify a reconstituted ICA. In addition, the left ICA had a 50–69% stenosis and there was rapid antegrade flow in the
Discussion
Anomalous branches of the ICA are relatively rare.2, 3 They were first described in the mid 19th century by Hryltle and Quain.1, 4, 5 Quain specifically mentions an occipital branch of the ICA.5 A recent study by Small et al. demonstrated a 0.49% prevalence of an anomalous occipital artery and a 6.25% prevalence of a superior pharyngeal artery from the ICA, both rates greater than previously seen in the literature.3 Although rare, anomalous branches of the ICA have significant implications in
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