Indirect trauma to the common carotid artery

Thrombosis of the internal carotid artery due to indirect trauma occurs usually as a result of stretching of the artery. In a few cases blast injury has been described as an etiological factor. The outcome of traumatic carotid artery thrombosis is often expressed as severe neurologic deficit and even death. In the case presented, gunshot injury indirectly caused intimal tear and subsequent thrombosis of the left common carotid artery, which had appeared normal on initial exploration. The neurologic manifestations of carotid thrombosis were overlooked due to initial coma related to the associated cranial trauma.