title: Fatal paradoxical muscle embolization in traumatic carotid-cavernous fistula repair. Case report.
abstract: A unique case of fatal paradoxical muscle embolism in a patient with a traumatic carotid-cavernous fistula is described. The muscle plug intended to occlude a left-sided fistula passed through the large fistula, bypassed the lungs by way of a patent foramen ovale, and embolized through the right carotid artery to lodge the internal carotid and middle cerebral arteries producing fatal brain infarction.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001164:Arteriovenous Fistula / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D002339:Carotid Arteries; D002426:Cavernous Sinus; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000150:complications; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease; D002542:Intracranial Embolism and Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications