Bilateral dolichoarteriopathy of internal carotid arteries as cause of bilateral ischemic strokes: Case report

Most anatomic features of the internal carotid artery (ICA) are described as a straight course to the skull base free of branches. In some cases, the excessive elongation of the internal carotid artery in a confined space results in a curvature showing a “C” or “S” shape, or in an abnormal vascular shape made of a single or double vessel loop. These anatomic variants are called dolichoarteriopathies of the internal carotid artery. The correlation between dolichoarteriopathy of the ICA and stroke is still questionable, however it is believed that it can be associated with cerebral ischemia with a clinical symptomatology that accompanies ischemic stroke. We report a case of a 41-year-old patient, with a history of hypertension, who was admitted for right hemiparesis with Broca's aphasia. The rest of the clinical examination was normal. Radiological investigations confirmed an acute left sylvian ischemic stroke with an abrupt occlusion of the posterior trunk of the left M2 segment on the CT angiogram, an excessive elongation of the ICA on both sides, describing a shape of coils or loops. Etiologic workup for ischemic stroke was negative.