Post-traumatic lethal carotid-cavernous fistula

Abstract

The authors report about an unexpected death by traumatic lesion of the internal carotid artery in a 30-year-old man who had fallen two metres. The man suffered a fracture of the left maxillary sinus and a fracture of the right orbit with bilateral haemorrhage of the maxillary sinus. Surgical treatment was performed with favorable outcome. Clinically, there were no neurological symptoms but about 60 days after his accident, the man died from uncontrolled epistaxis. He was submitted to the autopsy that show a linear fracture in the left side of the turcic sella and lesion of the left internal carotid artery with carotid-cavernous fistula.