Cavernous carotid injury during functional endoscopic sinus surgery: case presentations and guidelines for optimal management.

Background: Surgery in the parasellar and paranasal regions is technically challenging because of the complex anatomic relationships between the sphenoid sinus, cavernous sinus, optic nerve, and internal carotid artery. Normal anatomic variations and pathological changes can lead to disastrous outcomes including carotid artery injury.

Methods: We present two cases of carotid injury managed at our institution.