Premium
Carotid Artery Dissection due to Elongated Styloid Process: A Self‐Stabbing Phenomenon
Author(s) -
Razak Anmar,
Short Jody L.,
Hussain Syed I.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of neuroimaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1552-6569
pISSN - 1051-2284
DOI - 10.1111/j.1552-6569.2012.00759.x
Subject(s) - medicine , dissection (medical) , internal carotid artery , eagle , carotid arteries , process (computing) , anatomy , external carotid artery , occlusion , radiology , cardiology , paleontology , computer science , biology , operating system
Elongated styloid process (ESP) is an anatomical variant that has been described as the cause of Eagle syndrome. Until recently, the styloid process has not been appreciated as a significant contributor to carotid artery dissection (CAD), which is not part of Eagle syndrome. We present a case of a 41‐year‐old male who presented with acute right middle cerebral artery occlusion and was found to have ESP projecting to and abutting the lateral wall of a dissected right internal carotid artery (ICA). Forced sustained head turning with maximal muscle contraction was the initiating event driving the styloid process into the wall of the ICA in a manner that can be likened to being stabbed with a pointed object. Knowing the association between ESP, Eagle syndrome, and CAD shall lead to increased awareness and appropriate diagnosis and treatment.