Carotid artery rupture is a rare complication of irradiation therapy of the neck and it may present with mild continuous bleeding. A prompt surgical intervention should be considered to prevent sudden fatal outcome when the patient develops oropharyngeal bleeding after neck irradiation without previous history of trauma or other medical reasons, such as hypertension or hematologic disorders. A case of carotid artery rupture after the usual 6000 rads of Cobalt 60 therapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the vocal cord is. herein reported.
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