Peripatetic carotid artery simulating a carotid dissection on catheter angiography and CT angiography: a case report

Retropharyngeal carotid arteries are a common clinically relevant anatomic variant. “Peripatetic” carotid arteries refer to change in position to and from a retropharyngeal location, and are a newly described finding. Knowledge of this phenomenon is important to avoid potential procedural complications as well as misdiagnosis. We present a unique case of a peripatetic carotid artery simulating a carotid artery dissection during a catheter angiogram and subsequent CT angiogram. To our knowledge, this has never been described in the medical literature.