Vidian Artery as a Collateral Channel Between the External and Occluded Internal Carotid Arteries

—Case Report—

Abstract

A 68-year-old man presented with occlusion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) manifesting as a 6-month history of progressive sensory and motor disturbance of the left lower limb. Angiography clearly demonstrated a collateral arterial network between the ICA and external carotid artery (ECA) through the vidian artery, a small branch of both the ICA and ECA. The vidian artery may form an unusual but important ECA-ICA collateral pathway in patients with occlusive lesion of the ICA.