PRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 100 No. 8 August 2007
Aberrant Internal Carotid Artery in the Middle Ear:
A Case Report
Tsutomu Nagashima, Hideaki Shirasaki, Atsushi Taira, Ryoukichi Imai,
Etsuko Kanaizumi, Kenichi Takano, Megumi Kikuchi and Tetsuo Himi
(Sapporo Medical College)
We report a rare case of aberrant internal carotid artery in the middle ear. The patient was a 71-year-old woman with pulsatile tinnitus and hearing loss. A CT scan demonstrated an aberrant course of the internal carotid artery in the middle ear.
MR images and 3DCT were useful in distinguishing this anomaly from other possible diseases.
Here we discuss the clinical presentation, relevant radiographic investigations and further managemaent of these patients.
Key words : aberrant internal carotid artery, middle ear, pulsatile tinnitus