Variations of the Cervical Internal Carotid Artery

The objective of this study was to report the variations of the cervical internal carotid artery, as encountered during neck dissection for head and neck malignancies. A retrospective analysis of neck dissections performed for the management of various head and neck cancers, during 2006–2010 was carried out. Among 102 patients and 119 neck dissections, five of them were found to be having abnormalities of the cervical part of the internal carotid artery during its course in the neck and were analyzed in detail. Out of five subjects, four were males and the other was female with age ranging from 50 to 74 years. Of the five patients two had mild degree of tortuosity, two patients had moderate degree of tortuosity and another patient had severe degree of tortuosity in the course of internal carotid artery in the neck. Based on our cases, the possibilities of various vascular variations should be kept in mind while performing the neck dissection. This will help in preventing inadvertent injury to these vital structures and prevents subsequent consequences.