Nonspecific Traumatic Carotid-Cavernous Fistula Presented as Naso-Orbital Mass

ABSTRACT

Traumatic carotid-cavernous fistulae(TCCF) are rare but can cause potentially lethal complications such as visual loss and subarachnoid hemorrhage after craniomaxillofacial trauma. This represents aberrant vascular communication in skull base between the carotid artery system and the venous channels within the cavernous sinuses of a sphenoid bone. The symptoms are mostly related with ophthalmic problems such as pulsatile proptosis, chemosis, and diplopia. The standard diagnostic method is cerebral angiography. CT and MRI can be also useful. The main current treatment is endovascular detachable balloon occlusion. The clinicians who treat patients with craniofacial injuries should have complete understandings of this pathological entity, so that early diagnosis and urgent intervention can be done to avoid serious complications and to get successful results. We report the experience of treating a 25-year-old female with nonspecific traumatic carotid-cavernous fistula presented as naso-orbital mass using intravascular detachable balloon catheter embolization.