Unilateral Duplication of the Facial Artery: Anatomical Description and Clinical Implications
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The facial artery is the principal source of vascular supply to the anterior face and is well known for its considerable anatomical variability. True duplication of the facial artery as opposed to a double origin from a linguofacial or thyrolinguofacial trunk is an uncommon finding with direct implications for head and neck surgery, free flap planning, and aesthetic injection procedures. We report a case identified during conventional dissection of a fresh-frozen cadaveric head at Instituto CTA (Manaus, Brazil), in which the right facial artery arose as a single trunk from the external carotid artery and underwent an early bifid division near the base of the mandible, giving rise to two parallel branches coursing in the same fascial plane, of visibly unequal caliber. No other vascular variations were identified in the same specimen. This pattern is discussed in light of the recently proposed Landfald Classification of facial artery variants and compared with previously reported cases of facial artery duplication. Awareness of this variant is relevant to preoperative vascular mapping and to minimizing the risk of ischemic and hemorrhagic complications in facial surgical and cosmetic procedures.
Source: Revista de Geopolítica
Authors: Helder Pimenta, Lara Cristina Braga Araujo, Artur Nogueira Maciel, Luizze Elizabeth de Souza Silveira, João Pedro Pinheiro Zuidgeest Vásquez, Raylan Lucas Carvalho De Aguiar, Radyr Gomes De Oliveira Neto, Thaís Vasconcelos De Vasconcelos, Livia Chacon Hildebrando Da Silva, Caio Albyeri Carneiro De Oliveira, Henrique Vasconcelos, Clifferson Dos Santos, Camilla Castro Gomes, Havilla Thaysa Ferreira da Silva Macedo, Camila Nepomuceno, Vanessa Da Silva
Language: English
Subfield: Surgery
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7213284493