Supraclinoid carotid artery dissection following unusual trauma.

Dissection of the internal carotid artery usually involves the cervical portion but, rarely , may involve the intracranial portion. In contrast to extracranial dissection, the clinical course of intracranial dissection is often catastrophic, with rapid onset of profound neurologic deficit, occlusion of middle andjor anterior cerebral arteries, and high mortality rates. We describe a case of supraclinoid carotid dissection that occurred after an unusual form of head trauma.