Bow Hunter's Syndrome: Complete Microsurgical Decompression of Vertebral Artery by Far Lateral Retrocondylar Approach: 3-Dimensional Operative Video

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qazi Zeeshan ◽  
Juan P Carrasco Hernandez ◽  
Laligam N Sekhar

Abstract This 50-yr-old man had a 15-yr history of presyncopal episodes that were precipitated by turning his head to the right, and had worsened recently. Cerebral angiogram demonstrated complete cessation of anterograde flow in left vertebral artery (VA) at the level of the C1 sulcus arteriosus while turning head to right, indicating dynamic compression at the C1 level.  Patient underwent left extreme lateral retrocondylar approach, partial C1 laminectomy and opening of the C1 foramen with complete microsurgical decompression of the VA. After skin incision, meticulous muscle dissection was performed and superior and inferior oblique muscles were disconnected from the tubercle of C1. The VA was exposed, and three areas of constriction were visible, first at the atlanto-occipital membrane laterally; second, located more medially as the artery curved around the occipital condyle to enter the posterior fossa; and third, located anterior to C2 nerve root. The artery was dissected from all the surrounding tissues, preserving the C2 nerve root, and the Cl foramen was opened completely. The Cl lamina was also partially resected and grooved to allow free placement of the VA. The VA was also decompressed near the C2 foramen. Postoperative computed tomography angiogram of the head and neck showed complete decompression of VA. The patient had no episodes of presyncope or dizziness while turning head to right and his mRs was 0 at 8 mo follow up.  This 3D video shows the technical nuances of decompression of V3 segment of VA in bow hunters's syndrome.  Informed consent was obtained from the patient prior to the surgery that included videotaping of the procedure and its distribution for educational purposes. All relevant patient identifiers have also been removed from the video and accompanying radiology slides.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Kahn ◽  
Paul MacMahon ◽  
Thomas Russell ◽  
Jeffrey D. Klopfenstein ◽  
Daniel R. Fassett

BACKGROUND Sectioning the C2 nerve root is increasingly utilized during posterior C1–2 fusion, as the nerve overlies the entry point for C1 lateral mass screws and the C1–2 joint. Nerve sectioning improves visualization for screw placement and enables joint decortication for arthrodesis. While rare, vascular injury is a devastating complication of atlantoaxial fusion. Anomalous vascular anatomy at C1–2 greatly increases risk of iatrogenic injury. OBSERVATIONS A 78-year-old female with rheumatoid arthritis and prior C2–7 fusion presented with myelopathy from a compressive pannus at C1–2. She underwent C1 laminectomy and C1–2 posterior instrumented fusion. Intraoperatively, arterial bleeding occurred as the right C2 nerve root was sectioned. Vertebral artery injury was suspected, and tamponade was performed while vascular control was established. The artery passed aberrantly beneath the nerve root in the C1–2 foramen. It was repaired microsurgically, and patency was confirmed using indocyanine green. The remainder of the fusion was aborted. The patient wore a cervical collar and was treated with aspirin for 6 weeks before undergoing instrumented fusion. The patient suffered no deficits. LESSONS Although rare, anomalous vertebral artery anatomy increases risk of injury at time of C2 nerve root sectioning. Preoperative assessment of the vasculature is vital.


2004 ◽  
Vol 62 (3b) ◽  
pp. 899-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Bastos Conforto ◽  
Paulo Puglia Jr ◽  
Fábio Iuji Yamamoto ◽  
Milberto Scaff

We report the case of a 36 year-old woman who presented occlusion of a basilar artery fusiform aneurysm (FA) associated with pontine infarction, and two episodes of subarachnoid hemorrhage possibly due to arterial dissection. She also had asymptomatic FAs in the right middle cerebral and left internal carotid arteries. Over 5 years, lesions suggestive of fibromuscular dysplasia in the right vertebral artery and occlusion of the left vertebral artery were observed. This combination of lesions emphasizes the possibility of a common pathogenetic mechanism causing different degrees of media disruption in cervicocranial arteries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. e231335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Thomas O’Reilly ◽  
Ian Rennie ◽  
Jim McIlmoyle ◽  
Graham Smyth

A patient in his mid-40s presented with acute basilar artery thrombosis 7 hours postsymptom onset. Initial attempts to perform mechanical thrombectomy (MT) via the femoral and radial arterial approaches were unsuccessful as the left vertebral artery (VA) was occluded at its origin and the right VA terminated in the posterior inferior cerebellar artery territory, without contribution to the basilar system. MT was thus performed following ultrasound-guided direct arterial puncture of the left VA in its V3 segment, with antegrade advancement of a 4 French radial access sheath. First pass thrombolyisis in cerebral infarction (TICI) 3 recanalisation achieved with a 6 mm Solitaire stent retriever and concurrent aspiration on the 4 French sheath. Vertebral closure achieved with manual compression.


1998 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul W. Detwiler ◽  
Randall W. Porter ◽  
Timothy R. Harrington ◽  
Volker K. H. Sonntag ◽  
Robert F. Spetzler

✓ Vertebral artery tortuosity and loop formation are rare causes of cervical radiculopathy. The authors present the case of a 70-year-old man with 9 years of progressive right-sided cervical and scapular pain but no history of trauma. Computerized tomography myelography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed an ovoid mass in the right C3–4 intervertebral foramen. The patient underwent a right C-3 and C-4 hemilaminectomy and a complete C3–4 facetectomy. A pulsatile vascular structure was found compressing the right C-4 nerve root. The bone overlying the vascular structure was removed, producing decompression of the nerve root. Immediate postoperative angiography showed that this lesion was a focal vertebral artery loop. The patient's symptoms resolved after surgery, supporting the use of vascular decompression of a cervical nerve root compressed by a vertebral artery loop for the relief of radicular symptoms.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Katleen Devue ◽  
Annemie Van Ingelgem ◽  
Katrien De Keukeleire ◽  
Marc De Leeuw

This paper presents the case report of an 11-year-old boy with an acute dissection with thrombosis of the left vertebral artery and thrombosis of the basilar artery. The patient was treated with acute systemic thrombolysis, followed by intra-arterial thrombolysis, without any clinical improvement, showing left hemiplegia, bilateral clonus, hyperreflexia, and impaired consciousness. MRI indicated persistent thrombosis of the arteria basilaris with edema and ischemia of the right brainstem. Heparinization for 72 hours, followed by a two-week LMWH treatment and subsequent oral warfarin therapy, resulted in a lasting improvement of the symptoms. Vertebral artery dissection after minor trauma is rare in children. While acute basilar artery occlusion as a complication is even more infrequent, it is potentially fatal, which means that prompt diagnosis and treatment are imperative. The lack of class I recommendation guidelines for children regarding treatment of vertebral artery dissection and basilar artery occlusion means that initial and follow-up management both require a multidisciplinary approach to coordinate emergency, critical care, interventional radiology, and child neurology services.


2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 309-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.A. Brouwer ◽  
M.P.S. Souza ◽  
R. Agid ◽  
K.G. terBrugge

In this case presentation we describe a patient with an anomalous origin of the right vertebral artery arising from the right common carotid artery in combination with an aberrant right subclavian artery and a left vertebral artery originating from the arch between the left common carotid artery and left subclavian artery. Hence there were five vessels originating from the aortic arch. The possible embryological mechanism as well as a postulation on the importance of the level of entrance of the vertebral artery in the cervical transverse foramen is discussed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.M. Manole ◽  
D.M. Iliescu ◽  
R. Baz ◽  
P. Bordei

Abstract Our study was performed on 228 cases by dissection, by plastic injection followed by corrosion or dissection and by simple and CT angiography study. Each morphological aspect was assessed on a different numbers of cases, as long as the same case could not provide data on all studied elements. We assessed: the number of branches that originate from the aortic arch, the level of origin and the morphological type of the aortic arch. In terms of number of branches emerging from the aortic arch, most commonly are three branches, in 48.48% of cases, describing them 3 variations: separation of the three classical branches in 45,96% of cases, in 1.51% of cases the left common carotid artery emerged from the brachiocephalic trunk while the other two branches being represented by a vertebral artery and the left subclavian and in 1.01% by the right subclavian artery with retroesophageal traject, by a bicarotid arterial trunk and the left subclavian artery. In 28.70% of the cases were four branches, as follows: in 13.13% of cases the fourth branch was represented by the left vertebral artery, in 7.07% of cases there was the inferior thyroid artery, in 4.04% of cases the brachiocephalic arterial trunk was missing and the right subclavian artery originate from the aortic arch and presented a retroesophageal traject, in 3.03% of cases the fourth artery was the ascending cervical and in 1.51% of cases all four arteries had their origins in the aortic arch with no brachiocephalic trunk. In 22.73% of cases from the aortic arch originated only two branches: in 19.70% of cases the left common carotid originated in the brachiocephalic trunk, so the second branch was the left subclavian and in 3.03% of the cases there were two brachiocephalic trunks. Regarding the level of origin from the aortic arch, we found that only the brachiocephalic arterial trunk showed versions of origin: in 64 61% of the cases the brachiocephalic trunk had its origin in the horizontal segment of the aortic arch, in 21.54% of cases the origin was located at the limit between the ascending and horizontal segments and vin 12.31% of cases the origin was from the ascending segment of the aortic arch. In only 1.54% of the cases the left subclavian artery originated from the descending segment of the aortic arch


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (Suppl_1) ◽  
pp. V13
Author(s):  
Jacob Cherian ◽  
Thomas P. Madaelil ◽  
Frank Tong ◽  
Brian M. Howard ◽  
C. Michael Cawley ◽  
...  

The video highlights a challenging case of bilateral vertebral artery dissection presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage. The patient was found to have a critical flow-limiting stenosis in his dominant right vertebral artery and a ruptured pseudoaneurysm in his left vertebral artery. A single-stage endovascular treatment with stent reconstruction of the right vertebral artery and coil embolization sacrifice of the left side was performed. The case highlights the rationale for treatment and potential alternative strategies.The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/e0U_JE2jISw.


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