A Rare Case of Bilateral Congenital Absence of Internal Carotid Artery

Congenital absence of the internal carotid artery (ICA) is a rare anomaly. Even more infrequent are cases where the patient has a bilateral absence of the internal carotid arteries. Reported is a case of a 31-year-old male patient who presented with a few days history of severe headache and dizziness, and was incidentally discovered to have a congenital bilateral absence of his internal carotid arteries. The absence of the arteries is not always recognizably symptomatic, with most findings being incidental through imaging studies only. This is because collateral flow allows for sufficient cerebral circulation. However, this condition puts such patients at higher risk for ischemic and hemorrhagic cerebrovascular insults.