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Aberrant retropharyngeal (submucosal) internal carotid artery: an under-recognized, clinically significant variant

  • Anatomic Variations
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Abstract

We present a case of a 71-year-old woman who was incidentally found to have aberrant retropharyngeal internal carotid artery, lying very close to the pharyngeal mucosa, on imaging. Radiologists, otolaryngologists and anaesthetists should be aware of this clinically significant variant which can result in life-threatening bleeding during procedures in the oral cavity or oropharynx.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, 90 Yishun Central, Singapore, 768228, Republic of Singapore

    Sivasubramanian Srinivasan, Syed Zama Ali & Lim Tze Chwan

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  1. Sivasubramanian Srinivasan
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  2. Syed Zama Ali
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  3. Lim Tze Chwan
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Correspondence to Sivasubramanian Srinivasan.

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Srinivasan, S., Ali, S.Z. & Chwan, L.T. Aberrant retropharyngeal (submucosal) internal carotid artery: an under-recognized, clinically significant variant. Surg Radiol Anat 35, 449–450 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-012-1047-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-012-1047-3

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