Traumatic Dissection of Vertebral Artery Diagnosed with Helical CT Scan and Ultrasonography

Injuries of the vertebral artery due to severe craniocervical trauma have become relatively common but often go unrecognized initial trauma evaluation and are diagnosed after symptoms. We treated a patient with anterior C3 dislocation whose left vertebral artery dissection was diagnosed in 3-dimensional computed tomography (3D CT) angiography and color-coded Doppler sonography before any sign of cerebral dysfunction or ischemia. It is important to diagnose vertebral artery dissection early in patients with severe craniocervical trauma to initiate treatment and prevent serious complication. 3D CT angiography and color-coded Doppler sonography are comparatively noninvasive and very useful in diagnosing vertebral artery dissection in patients with craniofacial trauma.