Carotid Blow-Out Masquerading as Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage: A Case Report

Abstract

Tracheo-esophageal prostheses (TEP) are commonly used for speech restoration following laryngectomy for laryngeal cancer. The device is placed through the tracheoesophageal wall into the esophagus superior to the tracheal stoma. We report a case of a ruptured carotid artery presenting as a gastrointestinal bleed. The diagnosis was elusive for a while as initial extensive workup for a source of gastrointestinal bleeding was unsuccessful. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a TEP device causing a carotid blow out. This case highlights the importance of looking for atypical sources of bleeding when routine investigations do not provide an etiology.




J Med Cases. 2013;4(5):277-279
doi: https://doi.org/10.4021/jmc1163w