Aneurysm of the internal carotid artery presenting as a parapharyngeal mass

A case of saccular aneurysm of the internal carotid artery presenting as a parapharyngeal mass is being reported because of its rarity and the paucity of literature on the subject. Welling et al. (1983) evaluated 1118 aneurysms of the peripheral arteries seen over a 30-year period. Forty-one of these arose from the extracranial carotid system, only four of them being saccular aneurysms of the internal carotid artery. None of them presented with a parapharyngeal mass.