Carotid artery stenosis in correlation with neck and carotid artery anatomy

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between neck anatomy, especially its largest muscle – sternocleidomastoid and carotid space, with carotid artery anatomy and stenosis. Methods We analysed 102 computed tomography carotid angiograms. The study included the measurement of the neck and sternocleidomastoid length, diameter and volume and the size of the carotid space. Analysis of carotid artery geometry, the length, angle and height of carotid artery bifurcation and the direction of the internal carotid artery origin was also included. Results We found a positive correlation only between the neck and carotid length. There was no correlation between other neck characteristics and a carotid anatomy or internal carotid artery stenosis. Direction of internal carotid artery origin was significantly different (p < 0.01) between the left and right sides. Conclusions We have not found a correlation between the size of sternocleidomastoid and carotid space and carotid stenosis as a hypothetical factor for atherosclerosis. Also, the degree of carotid artery stenosis did not correlate with other neck and carotid measurements. Neck and carotid anatomy correlated only in their lengths. The left internal carotid artery showed mostly posterolateral origin, and right internal carotid artery had no predominate direction.

Paediatric Extensive Cervical Plexiform Neurofibroma Mimicking a Parotid Lesion

Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1), also known as von Recklinghausen’s disease is a multisystem genetic disorder that occurs with an incidence of 1 in 4000 live births. Plexiform nmeurofibroma (PN) is a rare important variant of NF1, seen in 5 to 15% of cases. We report a 7-year-old boy, without family history of neurofibromatosis presented with left neck swelling associated with multiple café au lait spots for one-year duration. Computed tomography of head and neck revealed an extensive soft tissue lesion involving the left parapharyngeal, carotid space and parotid space encasing the left internal and common carotid artery until its origin at the arch of aorta with erosion of the basiocciput. He underwent transcervical excision of the lesion, which was confirmed histopathologically as PN.

Paragangliomas of the Head and Neck: A Practical Approach to Diagnosis and Review of Detailed Anatomy of Sites of Origin

Paragangliomas are slow-growing hypervascular neuroendocrine tumors that arise from neural crest paraganglia cells distributed throughout the body. The purpose of this article is to review the clinical presentation and imaging characteristics of paragangliomas of the head and neck, based on their sites of origin, and to discuss the differential diagnosis of lesions that can mimic them. This article also reviews detailed anatomy of the jugular fossa, temporal bone, and the carotid space, where most head and neck paragangliomas are found. This article is intended for neuroradiologists and neuroradiology trainees with varying degrees of experience as well as a broader audience of physician radiologists and nonradiologists who use imaging of the head and neck in their daily practice.Learning Objective: To recognize the clinical presentation and imaging characteristics of paragangliomas of the head and neck, based on their sites of origin, and to differentiate these tumors from lesions that can mimic them.

A rare case of Scwannoma at carotid space of neck region mimicking as Paraganglioma.

This is a case of carotid body tumour at right side of neck region with initially diagnosed as paraganglioma. A 22 year old female patient with an history of pain and swelling at right side of neck region with intermittent headache difficulty during deglutination. Patient has taken medication for pulmonary kochs for 8 months. Now presented with the mentioned complaints with a swelling at right side swelling at neck region. The features and the correlation with MRI report diagnosed as paraganglioma and then on Histopathologic examination showed a tumour mass composed of two different areas admixed with each other either alternatively or diffusely. The final pathological impression was Neurilemmoma (Schwannoma).The diagnosis was definitive with no evidence of paraganglioma.

Computed tomography angiography lightbulb sign: Characteristic enhancement pattern on neck computed tomography angiography in differentiating paraganglioma from schwannoma of the carotid space

It is important to correctly distinguish paragangliomas from other tumors such as schwannomas in the preoperative assessment of head and neck tumors because paragangliomas have a propensity to bleed profusely during surgery. Therefore, preoperative embolization is often required while with schwannomas preoperative embolization is generally not required. Occasionally, schwannomas can mimic paragangliomas on routine computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the neck. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the computed tomography angiography of the neck of 10 patients with carotid space tumors. Seven patients had pathologically proven paraganglioma while three patients had schwannomas. We describe the “computed tomography angiography lightbulb sign” as avid homogeneous enhancement in the arterial phase which can accurately distinguish these entities.