We report a rare case of spontaneous extracranial cervical internal carotid artery (ICA) pseudoaneurysm in a female child aged 3 years who presented with a swelling in the neck which had bled following an attempted incision as it had been thought to be an abscess. A CT angiogram and an MR angiogram were not very conclusive to diagnose the exact site of origin and the morphology of the aneurysm. Digital subtraction angiography revealed a dissecting pseudoaneurysm of the right extracranial cervical ICA. The right ICA was ending as a pseudosac, and the right cerebral circulation was filling up through the right posterior cerebral artery. To minimize the radiation exposure, a microcatheter was placed inside the diagnostic catheter. The aneurysm sac was occluded using N-butyl cyanoacrylate since there was no distal flow to the brain from the artery beyond the aneurysm. It was a safe, effective and cheaper alternative to open surgery or to other endovascular management options available. Not all neck swellings are abscesses, and they should be examined and evaluated to exclude a vascular cause.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.