[Common carotid artery dissection propagated from acute aortic dissection: a case successfully treated by PTA]

We reported a rare case, which was successfully treated by PTA, of right common carotid artery dissection propagated from acute aortic dissection (AAD) type A. A 45-year-old male with a past history of hypertension and an artificial graft replacement of the abdominal aorta due to AAD type B, 7 years ago, was brought into our hospital by ambulance 30 minutes after an attack of fainting and left hemiparesis. On admission, the patient complained not of chest pain or left hemiparesis, but nausea. At that time his consciousness level was JCS 1. During examinations, he had the same attack twice and his consciousness level deteriorated to JCS 2. Brain MRI showed no abnormality, but cervical MRA did not visualize the right carotid artery and thoracic CT depicted acute aortic dissection including branches of the aorta. Emergent angiography disclosed that the dissecting 99% stenosis of the right common carotid artery had developed from AAD type A with poor collateral blood flow. PTA was carried out 8 times and reduced the residual stenosis to about 50% with shortened circulation time. The patient's consciousness disturbance improved. After the replacement of the whole aortic arch in an artificial graft, the residual stenosis disappeared. The patient recovered without neurological deficit but right frontal silent embolic infarction caused by the artificial graft replacement was detected. AAD is a catastrophic illness and sometimes accompanied by devastating ischemic cerebral disease (ICD) because of propagation of dissecting to extracranial vessels. This is the first report that shows the efficacy of PTA for treatment of ICD associated with AAD.