Iatrogenic Ascending Pharyngeal Artery Injury by Predilation Balloon Inflation During Carotid Artery Stenting with Flow Reversal

Background The ascending pharyngeal artery (APA) may rarely arise from the common carotid artery bifurcation. We report an injury to the APA as an unusual complication of predilation balloon inflation during carotid artery stenting (CAS) with flow reversal. Case Description A 73-year-old man presented with symptomatic severe left cervical internal carotid artery stenosis. The left APA arose from the common carotid artery bifurcation. We performed CAS with flow reversal to decrease the risk of distal embolization. When we attempted to catheterize the internal carotid artery under roadmap guidance for predilation, we did not notice that the balloon catheters had advanced into the APA owing to the absence of an anterograde angiogram, and the APA was injured when the balloon catheters were inflated. Conclusions Our case emphasizes the importance of performing a detailed anatomic assessment before CAS and ensuring adequate angiographic visualization during the procedure under flow reversal when the origin of the APA is in the vicinity of the origin of the internal carotid artery.