Images in Vascular Medicine: Chronic penetrating nail injury of the common carotid artery.

Abstract

A 55-year-old male carpenter had a history of hypertension and repeat hospitalizations with complaints of dizziness over a 1-year period. Computed tomography angiogram (CTA) showed that the left common carotid artery was penetrated by a metal nail, which had stopped at the 7th cervical anterior edge (Panel A, arrow). Catheter-directed angiogra-phy showed a filling defect of the left common carotid artery (Panel B, arrow). The preoperative physical examination was unremarkable. Upon review of cervical CT scans for