Tortuosity of the Internal Carotid Artery

Abstract

Cerebral arterial insufficiency due to impairment of carotid blood flow, usually caused by stenosis from an atherosclerotic plaque, also may be produced by elongation, tortuosity and kinking of the artery. Surgical treatment consists of removing the redundancy of the artery either by segmental resection and end-to-end anastomosis or by division and reinsertion of the internal carotid into the proximal common carotid artery. Seven cases are reported in which successful surgical treatment was accomplished. Six patients who had transient symptoms recovered completely without subsequent symptoms, and one patient who had prolonged partial aphasia before operation was unchanged.