|
Another type of
unusual facial pain which initially may be thought to be temporal
arteritis is that caused by spontaneous dissection of the carotid and/or
vertebral arteries.{204} The vascular dissection may occur
spontaneously, especially in those with unsuspected fibromuscular
dysplasia. Carotid and/or vertebral artery dissection may follow head
and neck injury is in "whiplash", blows to the neck, and
following neck manipulation. The clues to making the diagnosis include
pain over the angle of the jaw and hemicranium, oculosympathetic
paresis, dysgeusia, and altered facial sensation, as in the
following case: A 46-year old mildly hypertensive woman developed
"lightening pains" that radiated to her face from the left
side of her neck. The following day the pain had become dull and was
localized behind her left eye. She noted slight drooping of her left
eyelid, a strange persistent metallic taste, and discomfort over the
left side of her forehead. Her unilateral neck and face pain then
increase in intensity, and the entire left side of her face became
"numb and disagreeable." Examination showed a left
oculosympathetic paresis and marked decrease in sensation to light touch
and pinprick over all three divisions of the left trigeminal nerve.
Testing facial sensation evoked an unpleasant sensation. The remainder
of her examination was normal as were CT and MRI. Cerebral angiography
demonstrated a dissection of the left internal carotid artery extending
intracranially to the cavernous sinus and a 2 cm dissection of the left
vertebral artery.{205} Carotid dissection can mimic Raeder's paratrigeminal syndrome (see above), but requires angiography for diagnosis. |