Endovascular repair of a giant carotid pseudoaneurysm with the use of Viabahn stent graft

A 72-year-old woman presented with a large pulsatile anterior right neck mass with compressive symptoms of dysphagia and hoarseness. This was due to a large (6 cm by 4 cm) postcarotid endarterectomy pseudoaneurysm of the right common carotid artery. Successful endovascular exclusion of the pseudoaneurysm was performed with a Viabahn stent graft with significant decrease in the size on follow-up. Other endovascular options such as coil embolization and thrombin injection are also discussed. It is important to exclude infection as the cause of postendarterectomy pseudoaneurysm before considering endovascular repair over surgical repair. (C) 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.