A Rare Case of Congenital Internal Carotid Artery Agenesis and Contralateral Internal Carotid Artery Aneurysm

Sanjay Lamsal; Brooke Burkins; Mika Matteo; Jerry Matteo; Taylor S Harmon

doi:10.7759/cureus.23619

A Rare Case of Congenital Internal Carotid Artery Agenesis and Contralateral Internal Carotid Artery Aneurysm

Cureus. 2022 Mar 29;14(3):e23619. doi: 10.7759/cureus.23619. eCollection 2022 Mar.

Authors

Sanjay Lamsal¹, Brooke Burkins², Mika Matteo³, Jerry Matteo¹, Taylor S Harmon¹

Affiliations

¹ Radiology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville, USA.
² Radiology, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Auburn, USA.
³ Radiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.

Abstract

Agenesis of the internal carotid artery (ICA) is a rare congenital entity. This anomaly is typically occult in nature. However, the effects of an incidental discovery secondary to a contralateral ICA aneurysmal rupture can be devastating. The association between agenesis of the ICA and contralateral intracranial aneurysm formation is significantly higher than de novo incidental intracranial aneurysms in the general population. It is important to evaluate the presence of a contralateral intracranial aneurysm in the setting of known agenesis of the ICA. This allows for the performance of prophylactic embolization and characterizes collateral cerebral circulation.

Keywords: cavernous carotid artery aneurysm; cerebral digital substraction angiography; computed tomography angiography; internal carotid artery; internal carotid artery agenesis; internal carotid artery aneurysm; interventional radiology; magnetic resonance imaging; pipeline embolization; transarterial coil embolization.

Publication types

Case Reports