Carotid artery pseudoaneurysm following internal jugular vein cannulation.

A case of right common carotid artery pseudoaneurysm following internal jugular vein cannulation is reported. The aneurysm appeared three days after removal of the catheter, which had been in the right internal jugular vein for three weeks. There was a pin-hole communication between the common carotid artery and the pseudoaneurysm, which was successfully obliterated by surgery. Carotid pseudoaneurysm formation is a rare complication of internal jugular vein cannulation, and there has been no report of its formation after apparently successful jugular vein cannulation. This complication is difficult to predict, and careful observation after removal of the catheter is mandatory.