Internal carotid absence

What it is

A rare vascular anomaly characterized by agenesis (complete absence of the carotid canal), aplasia (a remnant of the artery remains) or hypoplastic (incomplete embryonic development) of the internal carotid artery, which can be unilateral or bilateral. Children with the condition are mostly asymptomatic due to the presence of collateral circulation. With increasing age, the risk of cerebrovascular events increases. Patients may present with headache, seizures, or transient ischemic attacks. Cerebral aneurysms may form in the context of the condition.

Key facts

Prevalence

<1 / 1 000 000

Age of onset

All ages

Inheritance

Not applicable

Classified as

Morphological anomaly

Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.

Signs and symptoms

These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.

ICD-10 codes

Related health topics

Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.

Cross-references