*What is a Carotid Artery Aneurysm?*
An aneurysm is identified as a ballooning or bulging of an arterial wall. This occurs when the artery becomes weakened and the wall becomes thin. If the wall becomes too thin the aneurysm will most likely rupture, resulting in internal bleeding. When a carotid artery aneurysm takes place, significant damage to the brain will occur.
*Symptoms*
Carotid artery aneurysms may form clots in the brain that impede the flow of blood to the head that can cause significant damage to the brain. These aneurysms may also bring about symptoms such as transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) or even a stroke to occur. Depending on the location of the aneurysm and how large it is, it can damage and affect surrounding nerves. If this occurs, patients may experience facial swelling, difficulty swallowing, or even hoarseness to their voice. On other occasions, patients may have a carotid artery aneurysm that produces no symptoms at all.
*Treatment*
Patients with carotid artery aneurysms are evaluated and treated individually. If the aneurysm is small and not affecting the patient, the physician may just opt to watch and evaluate the aneurysm frequently. Another treatment that may be used to eliminate the clots that are blocking the blood flow is Thrombolysis. This treatment is known as thrombolytic therapy and it uses a drug to dissolve the clot. Another treatment option is endovascular stent grafting. This is a surgery that is preformed inside the artery. The graft is expanded inside the artery and helps to manage the blood flow in the artery. Finally, surgical repair can be done to treat the aneurysm. This surgery entails the reconstruction of the portion of the artery that is involved with the aneurysm and then a bypass is preformed to redirect the blood flow form the original artery to the new portion.
*Outcome*
There can be complications with any treatment option that the patient selects. The biggest concern with invasive procedures is the possibility of stroke occurring during or after the procedure. Another risk that can lead to a negative outcome is damage to surrounding vessels, nerves, and tissues during the procedure. Patients are also at risk of a procedure not working 100%. The treatment may not work properly and the aneurysm can come back or the aneurysm can reject the treatment and still be at risk of rupturing.
MRI showing a large right intracavernous carotid artery aneurysm.
http://www.nature.com/eye/journal/v20/n12/fig_tab/6702272f2.html
This coronal reformat of a CT cerebral angiogram shows a right internal carotid artery aneurysm arising from the clinoid or proximal ophthalmic segment (probably at the origin of the ophthalmic artery). The aneurysm erodes the sphenoid bone and protrudes into the sphenoid sinus.
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