Carotid artery resection and vein grafting for malignancy

Neck recurrence following multi-modality therapy generally indicates a poor prognosis. Many of these recurrences are considered inoperable due to invasion of the Internal Carotid artery. Resec-tion of the carotid artery in these circumstances is associated with a high risk of neurological morbidity. However, in certain selected patients, resection of the carotid artery and replacement with a sephenous vein graft has been shown to be both safe and to provide a reasonable chance of disease control.This paper presents a case report of a 50 years old male with carcinoma of the larynx, who following radiotherapy and salage laryngectomy, developed a neck recurrence invading the carotid artery. A neck dissection along with carotid artery resection and vascular continuity using a saphenous vein graft was performed successfully. The surgical technique is presented alone with the review of relevant literature.