[Dissection of the extracranial internal carotid artery. 62 cases]

The results of a study of 62 patients with 69 dissections of the extracranial internal carotid artery are presented. Mean age at the time of diagnosis was 43 years, with a preponderance of men over women. The patients were followed up for a mean period of 41 months. In 6 cases regarded as being "traumatic" in origin, the outcome was similar to that of "spontaneous" dissection. The most significant associated factors seemed to be migraine (34 per cent), on-going treatment with oestrogens and progestogens (48 per cent of women) and fibromuscular dysplasia (21 per cent). The clinical features consisted of local signs (isolated in 8 cases), signs of ischaemia (isolated in 9 cases) or both together. There were 35 established cerebral vascular accidents and 2 cases of ischaemic optic neuritis with blindness, responsible for invalidating sequelae in 31 per cent of the patients. The most frequent local signs were suggestive hemicrania, cervical pain, Horner syndrome and tinnitus. The initial angiography showed occlusion in one quarter of the cases and stenosis in 70 per cent. Stenosis was usually located in the second infrapetrosal half of the artery and had the most favourable angiographic prognosis.