A Chip Off The Old Block!

A 35 year old male presented 9 months after sustaining a penetrating injury to the neck with a false aneurysm of the common carotid artery (CCA). At exploration, a 5mm piece of granite was embedded in the posterior wall of the CCA with overlying endothelialisation. He was treated with segmental resection and an interposition vein graft. Apart from the risk of foreign body embolisation at the time of the original presentation, it seems remarkable that the patient did not suffer a stroke due to embolism of thrombus that one would normally have expected to form on the highly thrombogenic stone surface.

Keywords: Carotid, Trauma