%0 Journal Article
%T Internal Carotid Artery Ectasia: The Value of Imaging Studies Prior to Biopsy of a Retropharyngeal Mass
%A Kenneth Chan
%A Polly S Richards
%A Mike G Dilkes
%J Journal of Surgical Case Reports
%D 2010
%I JSCR Publishing
%X The presence of retropharyngeal tissue mass often raises the suspicion of malignancy, especially in elderly patients. This prompts urgent biopsy to investigate tissue histology. We discuss a case where this is contraindicated as the retropharyngeal mass was illustrated by CT scanning and confirmed with MRI to be a tortuous coursing internal carotid artery. An awareness of this unusual anatomical variation and a careful interpretation of imaging studies both at the stage of differential diagnosis and pre-operative screening are essential to avoid damage to important structures, causing unnecessary complications.
%K internal carotid
%K ectasia
%U http://jscr.co.uk/2010/11/ent-surgery/internal-carotid-artery-ectasia-the-value-of-imaging-studies-prior-to-biopsy-of-a-retropharyngeal-mass/