Diagnosis and treatment of traumatic internal carotid artery pseudoaneurysm primarily manifested by repeated epistaxis.

AIM The current study aims to explore the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic internal carotid artery pseudoaneurysm (TICAP) primarily manifested by repeated epistaxis. MATERIAL AND METHODS Clinical data from 31 patients suffering from repeated epistaxis after trauma were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were diagnosed definitely with pseudoaneurysm at the internal carotid cavernous sinus segment by digital subtract angiography (DSA). RESULTS Endovascular interventional therapy was performed for all the patients. 20 patients received direct occlusion of the parent artery by embolization with detachable balloons and the rest received covered stent implantation to cover the parent arterial tear. No death occurred. Epistaxis did not recur after operation. CONCLUSION DSA is the gold standard for TICAP diagnosis. Endovascular interventional therapy is the treatment of choice for TICAP. Compared with internal carotid artery occlusion with balloons, covered stent implantation is a more valuable endovascular intervention method.