Internal Carotid Artery Dissection After Indirect Blunt Cervical Trauma in an Ice Hockey Goaltender

Internal carotid artery dissections are rare injuries that can result from both direct cervical trauma and indirect trauma causing sudden cervical hyperextension. Depending on the magnitude of the dissection, clinical presentation ranges from neurologic symptoms, such as Horner syndrome, to relatively mild but persistent headache symptoms, as in the case reported in this article. High clinical suspicion with subsequent neuroimaging is recommended in similar clinical scenarios. Our patient, an ice hockey goaltender, was conservatively treated with rest and serial neuroimaging studies to ensure resolution of the dissection. Eight weeks later, he returned to athletic competition with resolved symptoms and radiologically improved arterial stenosis.