[Preoperative MRI diagnostics of the topographic features of neck arteries in the patients presenting with chronic tonsillitis].

The objective of the present study was to determine the frequency of abnormalities of the major neck vessels and elucidate the specific features of blood supply of palatine tonsil based on the results of MRI performed in the vasculature-targeting regimen. A total of 109 patients presenting with chronic tonsillitis (including 64 women and 45 men at the age varying from 15 to 54 years) were available for the examination. All the patients underwent the MRI diagnostic study of the neck vessels by way of the preliminary evaluation of their condition at the pre-hospital stage. Abnormalities in the internal carotid artery were documented in 11.9% of the cases (including C- and S-shaped tortuosity of internal carotid artery in 6.88%, kinking and coiling of internal carotid artery in 4.13% and 0.92% of the patients, respectively). The majority of the detected abnormalities were located above the upper pole of the palatine tonsil which allowed to avoid the risk of the injury to the main neck vessels and prevented possible hemorrhage. One patient (0.46%) presented with kinking of the right internal carotid artery located in the immediate proximity to the capsule of the palatine tonsil close to its mid-third portion. There was no evidence that the present study gave rise to any malformation of the internal carotid artery and internal jugular vein. The proposed diagnostic method makes it possible to detect a rare anatomical feature of the development of the internal carotid artery discovered in a single patient (0.04%) out of the 2398 operated ones. This finding is of clinical significance and needs to be borne in mind when preparing the planned surgical intervention for the treatment of chronic tonsillitis. The results of the present study should be taken into consideration when prescribing the surgical treatment to the patients suffering not only from chronic tonsillitis but also from other ENT diseases, in the first place pharyngotympanic tube pathology.