- Ji Hee Lee, MD, Jung-Soo Moon, MD, Hyun-Jeong Kim, MD, Dae-Hyun Kim, MD*
- Department of Neurology, Chungnam National University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea, Department of Neurology, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea*
Common carotid artery (CCA) occlusion is usually associated with occlusion of the ipsilateral internal carotid artery (ICA), the external carotid artery (ECA), or both. However, flow to the ipsilateral ICA may be maintained by collateral vessels in cases of CCA occlusion. We represent two cases of antegrade flow in an ICA and retrograde flow in an ECA with an occluded ipsilateral CCA identified using color duplex sonography. In two cases, color flow Doppler imaging revealed that the unilateral CCA was totally occluded near its origin and that flow was re-established at the bulb. A detailed sonographic study demonstrated anterograde flow in the ICA and retrograde flow in the ECA. Duplex sonography, particularly with color-coded flow imaging, facilitates interpretation in patients with CCA occlusion and a patent ICA by providing an easily visualized roadmap of vascular flow. Journal of Neurosonology 1(1):46-49, 2009
Key Words: Common carotid artery occlusion, Duplex sonography, Takayasu’s arteritis
