Thrombosis of the Left Internal Carotid Artery

Obliteration of one or both carotid arteries has not infrequently been described as part of a widespread obstruction or total occlusion of large arteries given off from the aortic arch. Autochthonous thrombosis limited to the carotid arteries seems to be rare and may in fact never occur without some accompanying change in the cerebral vessels or in the aorta, particularly if considerable time has elapsed since the onset of the primary process. This paper reports 2 instances in which thrombosis was found in the left internal carotid artery and a segment of the thrombosed vessel was excised, in the first case for diagnostic study and in the second case for therapeutic purposes. When occurring as part of a widespread thrombosis of the large vessels, involvement of the carotid arteries has often been attributed to arteriosclerosis. In some cases no other factors have been mentioned.1In many cases other processes,