Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41388089›Full record

ArticleSurgical and radiologic anatomy : SRA2025

Bilateral retropharyngeal course of the common, internal, and external carotid arteries: implications for neck dissection.

Sakurako Sakai, Shogo Kikuta, Jingo Kusukawa

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Article in Surgical and radiologic anatomy : SRA, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Sakurako SakaiDental and Oral Medical Center, Kurume University School of Medicine, Asahi-machi 67, Fukuoka, Kurume, 830-0011, Japan.
Shogo KikutaDental and Oral Medical Center, Kurume University School of Medicine, Asahi-machi 67, Fukuoka, Kurume, 830-0011, Japan. kikuta_shougo@kurume-u.ac.jp.
Jingo KusukawaDental and Oral Medical Center, Kurume University School of Medicine, Asahi-machi 67, Fukuoka, Kurume, 830-0011, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo report a case of tongue cancer with an exceptionally rare bilateral retropharyngeal course of the common, internal, and external carotid arteries, and to underscore the critical role of preoperative imaging for performing a safe neck dissection.

methodsAn 81-year-old woman was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the right tongue. Preoperative contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed a unique vascular anomaly, with the bilateral carotid systems coursing retropharyngeally. Based on this detailed radiological assessment, she underwent a partial glossectomy and a modified radical neck dissection under general anesthesia.

resultsGuided by the preoperative three-dimensional anatomical evaluation, the carotid arteries were identified and preserved early in the procedure, which was completed without abnormal hemorrhage (estimated blood loss: 76 mL). The final pathological diagnosis was pT2N0M0. The patient's postoperative course was complicated by multiorgan failure secondary to sepsis, unrelated to any vascular injury, and she ultimately expired. The cervical wound healing was uneventful.

conclusionNeck dissection can be performed safely even in the presence of complex carotid artery anomalies. Meticulous preoperative radiological evaluation and tailored surgical planning are indispensable for averting catastrophic vascular complications. Head and neck surgeons must maintain a high index of suspicion for such anatomical variations.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Squamous CellCarotid Artery, CommonCarotid Artery, ExternalCarotid Artery, InternalNeck DissectionTongue NeoplasmsAged, 80 and overFatal OutcomeFemaleGlossectomyHumansImaging, Three-DimensionalTomography, X-Ray ComputedAnatomical variationCarotid arteryCase reportNeck dissectionRetropharyngeal carotid arteryTongue cancer

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.