Endovascular Internal Trapping by Low-Concentration N-butyl-2-Cyanoacrylate for a Ruptured Giant Common Carotid Artery Pseudoaneurysm

Abstract

Treating carotid blowout syndrome following rupture of giant pseudoaneurysms is difficult because the destroyed parent artery precludes conventional treatment. We present a patient with a ruptured giant pseudoaneurysm that we occluded using a modified internal trapping technique with low-concentration N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (NBCA) and a minimum number of coils. An 80-year-old man with a history of chemoradiation therapy for oropharyngeal cancer presented with several episodes of active bleeding from the subsequent tracheostomy site. Radiological examination revealed a giant right common carotid artery (CCA) pseudoaneurysm. Endovascular internal trapping was performed using both NBCA and coils under proximal flow control. We slowly injected 9 ml of low-concentration NBCA, which subsequently filled the entire pseudoaneurysm. We then injected an additional 2 ml of NBCA into the proximal CCA to achieve complete obliteration. No re-bleeding was observed during the 6-month follow-up. Endovascular internal trapping using low-concentration NBCA was feasible to treat a giant CCA pseudoaneurysm. The injected low-concentration NBCA filled the entire pseudoaneurysm without the risk of catheter entrapment.