Active retropharyngeal hemorrhage from an acute thyrocervical artery injury: a rare complication of hyperextension cervical spine injury.

Background: Acute vascular injury is uncommon after cervical spine injury. We describe a recent case of active retropharyngeal bleeding from the thyrocervical artery after an acute cervical spine injury.

Objectives: The case illustrates an unusual vascular injury diagnosed by 64-slice multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and managed successfully by emergency transcatheter embolization.