Prominent anterior and posterior clinoid processes lead to traumatic internal carotid artery aneurysm following craniofacial injury

Traumatic intracranial aneurysms are rare, comprising 1% or less of all cerebral aneurysms. They develop after blunt or penetrating head trauma. We present a 50-year-old patient in whom subarachnoid hemorrhage was developed as a result of traumatic aneurysm rupture after a closed craniofacial trauma. Through the careful evaluation of the three-dimensional computed tomography and conventional angiographies, the possible mechanism of the traumatic internal carotid artery (ICA) trunk aneurysm is correlated with a hit injury by the prominent anterior and posterior clinoid processes. This vulnerable traumatic ICA aneurysm was successfully obliterated with clipping and wrapping technique. The clinical presentation and possible underlying mechanism are discussed with a review of pertinent literature