Aplasia and displacement of the horizontal portion of the petrous carotid artery in mandibulofacial dysostosis.

Conclusions: The horizontal portion of the petrous carotid artery (HPCA) of mandibulofacial dysostosis (MFD) patients had anterior-inferior displacement or was aplasia at birth. Our findings indicate that most MFD patients have aplasia of the internal carotid artery. This information may be very important for safe reconstruction surgery in atresia.

Objective: MFD rarely has malformations of the cardiovascular system such as those seen in Goldenhar syndrome. This study aimed to compare MFD patients and normal subjects with respect to the length and diameter of the HPCA.

Subjects and methods: We radiographically studied 22 MFD patients (44 sides) using high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), measuring the length and diameter of the HPCA and the angle between the right and left HPCA using computer software. Findings were compared with those in 86 ears with normal auricles (control group) using the nonparametric test.

Results: The HPCA in MFD patients averaged 23.2 mm in length and 4.8 mm in diameter. The angle between the right and left HPCA averaged 100.2 degrees. In MFD patients, on average, HPCA were 2.0 mm shorter (p=0.001) and 0.4 mm narrower (p=0.016) than in control subjects. Mean angle between right and left HPCA was 5.4 degrees more acute in MFD patients than in control subjects (p=0.026). Moreover, the genu of the vertical and horizontal petrous ICA in the MFD group was on average 3.2 mm more inferior than in controls (p<0.001).