Abstract
Medicine is an ever changing field and interventional radiology (IR) procedures are
becoming increasingly popular because of high efficacy and its minimally invasive
nature of the procedure. Management of disease processes in the extra cranial head
and neck (ECHN) has always been a challenge due to the complex anatomy of the region.
Cross sectional imaging of the ECHN has grown and evolved tremendously and occupies
a pivotal and integral position in the clinical management of variety of head and
neck pathologies. Advances in angiographic technologies including flat panel detector
systems, biplane, and 3-dimensional rotational angiography have consolidated and expanded
the role of IR in the management of various ECHN pathologies. The ECHN is at cross
roads between the origins of great vessels and the cerebral vasculature. Thorough
knowledge of functional and technical aspects of neuroangiography is essential before
embarking on head and neck vascular interventions. The vessels of the head and neck
can be involved by infectious and inflammatory conditions, get irradiated during radiotherapy
and injured due to trauma or iatrogenic cause. The ECHN is also a common site for
various hypervascular neoplasms and vascular malformations, which can be treated with
endovascular and percutaneous embolization. This pictorial essay provides a review
of variety of ECHN pathologies which were managed by various IR procedures using different
approaches.
Keywords
Carotid blowout - Embolization - stent graft - sclerotherapy - vascular interventions