Rare anatomical variant of the cervical internal carotid artery.

Neck dissection is routine for the management of cancers of the head and neck. Knowledge of anatomical variants in the carotid artery system at various levels of dissection should prevent inadvertent injury to major blood vessels, which can cause massive bleeding. We report a rare 180° sharp bend in the cervical course of the internal carotid artery at level II, which we found during a modified neck dissection.