Objectives: The objective was to review the clinicopathologic features of carotid blowout syndrome (CBS) in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) and present a management algorithm.
Methods: We reviewed all HNC patients with a diagnosis of CBS seen at our tertiary cancer hospital from 1994 to 2009 and performed a retrospective review of all English-language studies documenting CBS cases within the past 15 years.
Results: Eight patients with HNC developed CBS at our institution, and another 132 HNC patients were presented in 21 studies. Patients with CBS typically have a history of radiotherapy (89%), nodal metastasis (69%), and neck dissection (63%). This disease usually occurs proximal to the carotid bifurcation and is commonly associated with soft tissue necrosis in the neck (55%) and mucocutaneous fistulas (40%). Half of CBS patients present with sentinel bleeding, but 60% of patients will develop a life-threatening hemorrhage requiring emergent intervention. Over 90% of patients with CBS were treated with endovascular therapy, and surgical ligation was rarely indicated. The morbidity and mortality rates of patients with CBS are significant; only 23% have survived without evidence of disease.
Conclusions: Carotid blowout syndrome is uncommon and can be rapidly fatal without prompt diagnosis and intervention. Although endovascular treatment within the carotid system can have a significant risk of mortality and neurologic morbidity, it has become the treatment of choice for CBS.