Abstract: As the incidence and treatment of oral and maxillofacial-head and neck tumors trend towards an aging and complex patient population, carotid artery variations are increasingly observed in clinical practice. However, there is a notable lack of systematic summaries regarding the impact of these variations on the clinical management of such tumors. Therefore, this paper aimed to systematically summarize the etiology, clinical characteristics, examination methods, classification, treatment strategies for carotid artery variations. Furthermore, it sought to explore their potential influence on the clinical practice of oral and maxillofacial-head and neck oncology from eight perspectives: differential diagnosis of oropharyngeal masses, intubation under general anesthesia or endoscopic procedure, neck dissection, radical surgery of tumor, selection of recipient vessels during tissue reconstruction, tracheostomy, application of interventional diagnosis and treatment, and radiation therapy, in order to provide guidance for clinicians to avoid or minimize accidental injuries or potential complications resulting from these variations while enhancing the accuracy and safety in treating such tumors.

Key words: Carotid artery variation, Oromaxillofacial head and neck oncology, Oropharyngeal masses, Clinical practice