Preliminary Study of the Treatment Strategy for Retaining Traumatic Foreign Bodies Involving the Carotid Artery

Craniomaxillofacial trauma is usually accompanied by indwelling foreign bodies, and some of those are close to the carotid artery, which increases the risks and difficulties of surgical treatment. The introduction of interventional radiology combined with image-guided surgical navigation may be a good solution for precise surgery to remove foreign bodies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Four patients were included in the study. All patients underwent digital subtraction angiography and enhanced computed tomography before surgery. The patients were divided into 3 categories (A, B, and C) according to the presence of carotid artery damage and its positional relationship with the foreign body, and 3 corresponding treatment strategies were developed. Treatments were completed using interventional radiology and surgical navigation systems. RESULTS: All foreign bodies were completely removed, except for 1 remaining in the jugular foramen in a patient. The prognosis of all patients was good, and no systemic complications occurred. CONCLUSION: The combined interventional radiology and surgical navigation method proposed in this study is an effective method to improve the accuracy and safety of foreign body removal surgery.