Incidental discovery of an absent right common carotid artery demonstrated by digital subtraction angiography and magnetic resonance angiography

Congenital Aplasia of the Common Carotid Artery: A Comprehensive Review

In an attempt to describe the morphofunctional consequences of uni- and bilateral aplasia of the common carotid artery (CCA), which is usually a vascular source of the external carotid (ECA) and internal carotid (ICA) arteries, we investigated online databases of anatomical and clinical papers published from the 18th century to the present day. We found 87 recorded cases of uni- and bilateral CCA aplasia in subjects from the first hours to the eighth decade of life, which had been discovered in 14 (known) countries. Four crucial parameters were described: the embryology of the carotid arteries, morphophysiology of the carotid arteries, CCA aplasia, and unilateral versus bilateral CCA aplasia, including history, general data, diagnosing, vascular sources, caliber, course of the separated ECA and ICA, associated vascular variants, and pathological disorders. To complete the knowledge of the morphofunctional consequences of the absence of some artery of the carotid system, and risking the possibility of repeating some words, as "carotid artery", or "carotid aplasia" and the headings from our previous article about bilateral ICA absence, this review is the first in the literature that recorded all cases of the CCA aplasia published and/or cited for the past 233 years. Main characteristic of the CCA absence is its association with 21 different diseases, among which the aneurysms were in 13.69% of cases, and 17.80% of cases were without pathology.

Incidental finding of an absent left common carotid artery

We describe a case of a young woman evaluated for Raynaud's phenomenon in whom an extremely rare variation, the absence of the left common carotid artery, was incidentally detected as an isolated finding. The detection of vascular anomalies may be important for future endovascular or surgical interventions.

Absent right common carotid artery associated with aberrant right subclavian artery

Rarely, the external and internal carotid arteries arise separately from the brachiocephalic trunk and right subclavian artery (SA) or the aortic arch and reflect the absence of a common carotid artery (CCA). We report a 45-year-old man with absent right CCA associated with aberrant right SA, an extremely rare combination, diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) angiography during follow-up for postoperative aortic dissection. Retrospective careful observation of preoperative postcontrast CT revealed the absent right CCA. Previously reported arch variations associated with absent CCA include cervical aortic arch, double aortic arch, and right aortic arch.

Absence of the right common carotid artery: a rare case without separate origins of the internal and external carotid arteries

Absence of the common carotid artery (CCA) is a rare anomaly. In the few cases described in the literature, it has been typically associated with separate origins of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and external carotid artery (ECA) Fife (1921), Boyd (1934), Rossiti and Raininko (2001), Cerase et al. (2009), Drazin et al. (2010), Yim et al. (2009), Monaco et al. (2009), Jerius et al. (1995), Dahn et al. (1999), Cakirer et al. (2002), Choi et al. (2015), Bryan et al. (1978), Horowitz et al. (2003), Roberts and Gerald (1978), Rajeshwari (2013), Purkayastha et al. (2006), Maybody et al. (2003), Wood et al. (2011) . To the best of our knowledge, absence of the CCA without separate origins of the ECA and ICA has only been described five times before, one of them in conjunction with a persistent proatlantal intersegmental artery (PIA) Cao et al. (2011) and four with agenesis of the ICA Kobayashi et al. (2013), Kunishio et al. (1987), Chen et al. (2008), Xie et al. (2010) . We present a case of a previously undescribed variation of this rare vascular anomaly.

Absent right common carotid artery with stenting of symptomatic internal carotid artery stenosis

Absent common carotid artery with independent origin of internal and external carotid arteries from the subclavian artery is a rare but recognized phenomenon. We describe one such case with an associated symptomatic proximal high-grade stenosis of the right internal carotid artery. The abnormal carotid anatomy was not initially well appreciated, resulting in a failed surgical exploration and subsequent successful endovascular carotid stenting. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of carotid stent in a right internal carotid artery originating from the subclavian artery.

Diagnosing common carotid artery agenesis using duplex ultrasound

The complete absence of a common carotid artery, also known as common carotid artery (CCA) agenesis, is a well-described yet extremely rare congenital anomaly. Most carotid system anomalies are related to origins of the external or internal carotid arteries. All such anomalies are typically asymptomatic unless associated with a concomitant arterial lesion that results in a workup for symptomatic intracerebral pathology or a focal neurological deficit. The literature is scant on the topic, being limited to singular case reports. We report 3 cases of CCA agenesis and provide the readers with insightful data on the available literature.