Carotid injury due to intraoral trauma: case report and review of the literature.

This report describes a 25-month-old child with an internal carotid artery injury that was caused by a fall upon the sharp end of a comb held in the mouth. The initial injury appeared trivial, but 24 hours later a right cerebral hemispheric infarct occurred. Delayed deterioration was caused by increased intracranial pressure and transtentorial herniation. Aggressive medical therapy was instituted for the control of intracranial pressure. The clinical and radiographic features are described in detail and the pertinent literature is reviewed. This is the first reported patient with this condition who survived once transtentorial herniation was present.