title: Repeated cerebral ischemia caused by extracranial carotid artery dolichoectasia.
abstract: We report the case of a 67-year-old man with repeating cerebral embolism caused by a dolichoectatic right common carotid artery. The patient had a history of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, cigarette smoking, and a postoperative abdominal aortic aneurysm. He presented with a sudden onset of weakness of the left arm and leg. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed old and fresh infarction in the right cerebral hemisphere. Carotid duplex ultrasonography showed a dolichoectatic right common carotid artery with a maximum diameter of 39 mm with thick plaque and strong spontaneous echo contrast. The flow velocity was considerably reduced, which caused thrombus formation, and strong antithrombotic therapy was required. This case provides a rare example of ischemic stroke caused by extracranial carotid artery dolichoectasia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery and Clinical Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sadahiro
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishihara
authors.forename: Hisaharu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Humiaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oka
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shirao
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoneda
authors.forename: Michiyasu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000473:pathology*; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004108:Dilatation, Pathologic / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence