Traumatic internal carotid occlusion at the base of the skull.

A case of traumatic thrombosis of the internal carotid artery at the base of the skull is reported, and 23 similar cases collected from the literature. This review shows that 85% of the patients either died or were left with major neurological deficit, and only 15% recovered completely. There were two primary sites for the onset of thrombosis. One in the petrous pyramid and usually associated with basal skull fracture, and the other immediately distal to the posterior communicating artery in patients with minor head trauma.