Baba Akira, Yamauchi Hideomi, Ogino Nobuhiro, Okuyama Yumi, Yamazoe Shinji, Munetomo Yohei, Kobashi Yuko, Mogami Takuji, Ojiri Hiroya
Department of Radiology, Tokyo Dental College Ichikawa General Hospital, 5-11-13, Sugano, Ichikawa-shi, Chiba 2728513, Japan.
Department of Radiology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Radiol Case Rep. 2017 Aug 9;12(4):752-755. doi: 10.1016/j.radcr.2017.07.007. eCollection 2017 Dec.
Positional change in the retropharyngeal carotid artery, a rare phenomenon over time, is even rarer in previous reports, and it is important to be aware of this before any neck surgical procedure. A woman in her 50s underwent an anterior maxillectomy for upper gingival cancer, without neck dissection. The patient had medical histories of diabetes mellitus and liver dysfunction, with unremarkable family histories. Serial neck contrast-enhanced computed tomography for detecting locoregional recurrence had been performed as a follow-up during 4 years. A radiological course of moving carotid arteries in serial computed tomography studies showed reciprocating positional changes (wandering) between normal and retropharyngeal regions. There was no locoregional recurrence of the gingival cancer. This is the first case to describe a so-rare presentation of wandering carotid arteries. It is important for clinicians to be aware of a wandering carotid artery to avoid potentially fatal complications.
