Retropharyngeal carotid in a case of oral malignancy: A catastrophe waiting to happen?

Normal Internal Carotid artery run a straight and branch free course in the neck. However, due to abnormal embryological development or atherosclerosis/ fibromuscular dysplasia there might arise an aberration in the course of the internal carotid arteries. These may be medial deviation, kinking or coiling. Medial deviation may cause a retropharyngeal location. Ignorance of this location may lead to catastrophic complications in various surgical and anesthesia procedures involving the pharynx. We present a case of a 71year old male patient with oral malignancy and right-sided retropharyngeal common and internal carotid arteries with a brief review of literature to signify the clinical importance of this anatomical variant.