Traumatic giant aneurysm of the intracavernous internal carotid artery causing fatal epistaxis: case report.

A patient with a giant intracavernous carotid aneurysm usually has symptoms and signs of a space-occupying lesion, producing one of a variety of types of cavernous sinus syndromes. Epistaxis is an unusual feature in these patients. A patient who noted the onset of repeated arterial epistaxis 2 years after a severe head injury was found to have a traumatic aneurysm of the cavernous portion of internal carotid artery. After angiography, he suddenly developed profuse, pulsatile, arterial epistaxis and had a cardiopulmonary arrest. This case and a review of previously reported cases emphasize the importance of early cerebral angiography in patients with posttraumatic recurrent epistaxis.