ABSTRACT

Trauma to the soft palate and retropharyngeal tissue is an uncommon event during childhood. Neurological complications may occur following asymptomatic intra oral trauma. There is usually delay in diagnosis of non-penetrating traumas until neurological complications appear. In blunt carotid traumas, headache is the most common symptom. Other typical symptoms are unilateral neuralgic deficits such as hemiplegia, aphasia, or visual loss. Neurological complications are mostly caused by thrombus formation in the carotid artery. Early anticoagulation therapy and antiplatelet therapy are good non operative methods which can help cure trauma. A 2.5 year-old child is presented here, with hemiplegia and aphasia following by a blunt trauma of pharynx, caused by a fall whilst carrying a pencil in her mouth. The injury was without bleeding and the neurological symptoms appeared after 17 hours. Computed tomography of the brain revealed a large hypo dense area in the Middle Carotid Artery (MCA). Antiplatelet therapy was undertaken and good clinical results were obtained.