Extracranial-intracranial high-flow bypass using the radial artery between the vertebral and middle cerebral arteries. Technical note.

Carotid ligation and vascular reconstruction following radical neck dissection were required in a patient with carotid artery rupture associated with an infected salivary fistula. An extracranial-intracranial high-flow bypass was performed using a radial arterial graft between the V3 segment of the vertebral artery and the M2 segment of the middle cerebral artery. Postoperative angiograms confirmed sufficient blood flow through the bypass graft into the ipsilateral internal carotid arterial system. No clinical signs of ischemia were observed postoperatively. This V3-M2 bypass procedure appears to be an effective means of controlling catastrophic bleeding from a ruptured carotid artery, thus allowing the wound to heal completely.