Thorium dioxide granuloma of the neck with resultant fatal hemorrhage

A 46-year-old man had a granuloma in the neck that was caused by extravasation of thorium dioxide (Thorotrast) by an angiographic procedure performed about 30 years previously. His chief complaints were dysphagia and dyspnea with mild hoarseness. Parital resection of the tumor was performed, but his symptoms were not ameliorated. The immediate postoperative course was unfavorable. The patient died four months after the operation from massive hemorrhages from the right common carotid artery.