Aberrant carotid artery as an incidental finding before tonsillectomy

Abstract

Injury to the internal carotid artery during routine pharyngeal surgery is a rare and potentially catastrophic complication. Aberrations of the cervical blood vessels that might cause lethal post-tonsillectomy bleeding are clearly important but largely unpredictable, even when associated with pediatric head and neck syndromes. We describe a patient in whom aberrant cervical carotid artery was an incidental finding prior to a scheduled tonsillectomy.