Aneurysm of the internal carotid artery following soft tissue penetration injury

Aneurysms of the extracranial arteries are in most cases secondary to atherosclerosis but may also be due to degeneration, congenital abnormalities, trauma or unclear etiology. They present either with bulging in the lateral pharyngeal wall or the neck. Therefore, otolaryngologists are often among the first physicians to see the patient. In this report, we present a case of spontaneous oral bleeding that was caused by a pseudoaneurysm following 2 weeks after a soft tissue penetration injury in a child. The facial swelling of the child was initially diagnosed to be mumps by its pediatrician and the fever treated with aspirin. A pseudonaneurysm of the internal carotid artery was identified by arteriography as the source of the abrupt oral bleeding and required immediate surgical treatment including radiological means. Our report should illustrate the importance of careful preoperative evaluation as well as a high index of suspicion especially in children, where evaluation of history is difficult.