Vertebral Artery Transection in Nonpenetrating Trauma: A Series of 4 Patients

Blunt cerebrovascular injury is a common and potentially devastating consequence of nonpenetrating trauma to the head and neck. The degree of injury ranges from minimal intimal disruption to complete transection with free extravasation. Although blunt carotid transection has been well characterized in clinical reports and radiologic studies, the computed tomographic angiography (CTA) features of blunt vertebral artery transection have not been well described. We report a series of 4 patients presenting to our level I trauma center with blunt vertebral artery transection, with an emphasis on their CTA imaging findings at presentation and their respective clinical courses. A brief review of the pertinent literature is provided.