Acta otorhinolaryngologica Italica : organo ufficiale della Società italiana di otorinolaringologia e chirurgia cervico-facciale
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Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital · Nov 1990
Case Reports[Intracranial post-traumatic aneurysm of the internal carotid artery as cause of epistaxis: considerations on 2 cases].
Aneurysm of the internal carotid artery is rarely mentioned as a cause of epistaxis. This condition is quite rare but it is important to consider aneurysms in the etiology of epistaxis because of their high mortality rate and since they require management quite different from that of epistaxis of other origins. After arteriosclerosis the most frequent cause of an aneurysm of the internal carotid artery is a closed or penetrating craniofacial trauma injuring the artery. ⋯ Therefore angiography was performed which revealed a small aneurysm of the intracavernous segment of the left internal carotid artery. Subsequently, an endovascular balloon embolization of the aneurysm was successful, preserving the parent artery. The importance of considering aneurysms in the differential diagnosis of massive epistaxis is emphasized.