Giant cell arteritis involving the facial artery – A case report of an unusual presentation

Abstract

Giant cell arteritis is a large vessel vasculitis. It involves the superficial temporal artery in 100% of cases.1 It has been known to involve other arteries with varying manifestations. Only a few case reports of giant cell arteritis involving the facial arteries are available. Cranial manifestations of giant cell arteritis such as jaw claudication, facial swelling, dental pain and unusually overt necrosis of the tongue are the result of involvement of branches of external carotid artery, including the facial artery.2 However, to the best of our knowledge, jaw swelling as an initial presentation of giant cell arteritis has been reported only infrequently.2 We present the case of a 71-year-old male with giant cell arteritis involving the facial artery who presented with jaw swelling as the initial presentation.