A Rare and Subtle Etiology of Chronic Oropharyngeal Pain: Isolated Internal Carotid Artery Kinking without Stenosis

Abstract

Carotid artery kinking is a frequent finding in duplex ultrasonography. However, isolated morphological changes without significant carotid stenosis are rarely symptomatic. Neck pain is a rare symptom in patients with carotid artery kinks. The vascular etiology in patients with persistent neck pain is usually overlooked. A 58-year-old female patient with chronic neck pain presented to our clinic. Following multidisciplinary team review, the symptoms were found due to the kinking of the internal carotid artery. In this report, we present the clinical presentation of the patient with the kinking of the internal carotid artery without stenosis, surgical management of the pathology, and a brief literature review.