Pseudomyasthenia Resulting from a Posterior Carotid Artery Wall Aneurysm: A Novel Presentation: Case Report

Neurosurgery ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 1466-1469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramachandra P. Tummala ◽  
Andrew Harrison ◽  
Michael T. Madison ◽  
Eric S. Nussbaum

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE Painful oculomotor palsy can result from enlargement or rupture of intracranial aneurysms. The IIIrd cranial nerve dysfunction in this setting, whether partial or complete, is usually fixed or progressive and is sometimes reversible with surgery. We report an unusual oculomotor manifestation of a posterior carotid artery wall aneurysm, which mimicked ocular myasthenia gravis. CLINICAL PRESENTATION A 47-year-old woman developed painless, intermittent, partial IIIrd cranial nerve palsy. She presented with isolated episodic left-sided ptosis, which initially suggested a metabolic or neuromuscular disorder. However, digital subtraction angiography revealed a left posterior carotid artery wall aneurysm, just proximal to the origin of the posterior communicating artery. INTERVENTION The aneurysm was successfully clipped via a pterional craniotomy. During surgery, the aneurysm was observed to be compressing the oculomotor nerve. The patient's symptoms resolved after the operation. CONCLUSION The variability of incomplete IIIrd cranial nerve deficits can present a diagnostic challenge, and the approach for patients with isolated IIIrd cranial nerve palsies remains controversial. Although intracranial aneurysms compressing the oculomotor nerve classically produce fixed or progressive IIIrd cranial nerve palsies with pupillary involvement, anatomic variations may result in atypical presentations. With the exception of patients who present with pupil-sparing but otherwise complete IIIrd cranial nerve palsy, clinicians should always consider an intracranial aneurysm when confronted with even subtle dysfunction of the oculomotor nerve.

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-25
Author(s):  
Amir Ahmad ◽  
◽  
Amir Ahmad ◽  
Philip Travis ◽  
Mark Doran ◽  
...  

Internal carotid dissection most commonly presents as headache, focal neurological deficits or stroke. Rarely it can manifest itself by causing a palsy of the lower cranial nerves (IX, X, XI, XII). The reported incidence of isolated cranial nerve palsies is rare. We report a case of an internal carotid artery dissection manifesting as isolated XII (hypoglossal) cranial nerve palsy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Ratna Dwi Restuti

Background: Malignant otitis externa is an inflammatory condition of the external ear which has the propensity to spread to the skull base. It can be a difficult entity to treat as clinical presentation varies and response to treatment differs between patients. Purpose: Evaluating the management of malignant otitis externa with complications in geriatric patients who had multiple comorbidities. Case: A 71 years old female with a diagnosis of left malignant otitis externa with complications of multiple cranial nerve palsies (N.VII, IX, X) and comorbidity in the form of diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease. The patient underwent subtotal temporal bone resection and petrosectomy. Clinical Question: “Could surgical management of malignant otitis externa with cranial nerve palsies complication in geriatric patients with multiple comorbidities achieve better result than conservative treatment?” Review Method: Literature search using keywords ’malignant otitis externa’ OR ’temporal bone osteomyelitis’ AND ’geriatric’ OR ’elderly’ AND ’multiple cranial nerve palsy’ AND ’diabetes mellitus’ AND ’tuberculosis’ AND ’surgery’ OR ’surgical’ was conducted through Cochrane, Pubmed, and Google Scholar. Result: The search obtained 11 articles published in the last 10 years. Selection based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 2 studies were found relevant with the topic. Conclusion: Management of malignant otitis externa with complications in geriatric patients with multiple comorbidities requires a multidisciplinary approach to determine the need for surgery intervention.Keywords: malignant otitis externa, cranial nerve palsy, subtotal temporal bone resection, geriatric, diabetes mellitus ABSTRAK Latar belakang: Otitis eksterna maligna adalah suatu kondisi peradangan pada telinga luar yang memiliki kecenderungan untuk meluas hingga ke dasar tengkorak. Penyakit ini menjadi sulit ditangani karena manifestasi klinis yang bervariasi dan respons terhadap pengobatan yang berbeda antara pasien. Tujuan: Mengevaluasi tatalaksana otitis eksterna maligna dengan komplikasi pada pasien geriatri yang memiliki komorbiditas multipel. Kasus: Pasien perempuan 71 tahun dengan diagnosis otitis eksterna maligna telinga kiri dengan komplikasi paresis saraf kranial multipel (n.VII, IX, X) dan penyakit penyerta berupa diabetes melitus dan gagal ginjal kronik. Pasien menjalani operasi reseksi tulang temporal subtotal dan petrosektomi. Pertanyaan klinis: “Apakah tatalaksana pembedahan memberikan hasil yang lebih baik dibandingkan terapi konservatif pada pasien geriatri dengan otitis eksterna maligna disertai paresis saraf kranialis dengan komorbiditas multipel.” Telaah Literatur: Dilakukan menggunakan kata kunci ’malignant otitis externa’ ATAU ’temporal bone osteomyelitis’ DAN ’geriatric’ ATAU ’elderly’ DAN ’multiple cranial nerve palsy’ DAN ’diabetes melitus’ DAN ’tuberculosis’ DAN ’surgery’ ATAU ’surgical’ pada beberapa sumber data seperti Cochrane, Pubmed, dan Google Scholar. Hasil: Didapatkan 11 artikel publikasi 10 tahun terakhir. Berdasarkan kriteria inklusi dan eksklusi diperoleh 2 artikel yang relevan dengan topik. Kesimpulan: Tatalaksana otitis eksterna maligna dengan komplikasi pada pasien geriatri dengan komorbiditas multipel, membutuhkan pendekatan multidisiplin terutama untuk menentukan perlunya dilakukan tindakan pembedahan.


2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 163-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Suzuki ◽  
A. Kurata ◽  
S. Kan ◽  
M. Yamada ◽  
J. Niki ◽  
...  

Whether endovascular surgery is able to reduce the mass effects of unruptured aneurysms is still controversial, although some reports have suggested efficacy in cases of internal carotid artery aneurysms with cranial nerve palsy. Here we assessed outcome in a series of cases. Between April 1992 and April 2005, 18 patients with unruptured internal carotid artery aneurysms presenting with cranial nerve palsy were treated by endovascular surgery. The patients were two males and 16 females aged from 19 to 84 (mean 59.6 years). Aneurysms were located in the cavernous portion in 14, at the origin of the ophthalmic artery in one and at the origin of P-com in three. The aneurysms were all embolized using Guglielmi detachable coils, Interlocking detachable coils, Cook's detachable coils or Trufill DSC and detachable Balloons were applied to occlude the proximal parent artery. We analyzed the efficacy of endovascular surgery for such aneurysms retrospectively. The mean aneurysm size was 21.4 mm and the mean follow-up period was 57.7 months. Palsy of IInd cranial nerve was evident in three patients, of the IIIrd in eight, of the Vth and Vth in one each, and of the VIth in nine. Post embolization occlusion was complete in nine patients and neck remnant in the other seven. Regarding complications of endovascular surgery, one case (5.6%) showed TIA after embolization. Overall 11 (46%) cranial nerve symptoms showed complete resolution, eight (33%) showed some improvement, and five (21%) were unchanged. In three cases (12.5%), the symptoms worsened after treatment. The shorter the duration of symptoms was a factor predisposing to resolution of symptoms. In complete resolution cases, the timing of treatment after symptoms appeared and the time of complete resolution were in proportion. These results showed that there is no difference in reduction of mass effects between surgical clipping and endovascular surgery for unruptured internal carotid artery aneurysms. With endovascular surgery, the rapidity of treatment after symptoms is the most important factor for successful results.


2002 ◽  
Vol 116 (7) ◽  
pp. 556-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Rowlands ◽  
G. K. Lekakis ◽  
A. E. Hinton

Skull base osteomyelitis classically presents as a complication of severe external otitis, middle ear, mastoid or sinus infection and can lead to multiple lower cranial nerve palsies when the jugular foramen is involved as a consequence of widespread involvement of the skull base. Bilateral skull base osteomyelitis is a recognized phenomenon, but has not previously been reported secondary to pseudomonal infection in the absence of a clinically obvious focus of infection. We report the case of a 77-year-old diabetic patient who presented with dysphonia and dysphagia and had a bilateral Xth cranial nerve palsy. No focus of infection was evident on presentation. Subsequent radiological investigation confirmed the diagnosis of bilateral skull base osteomyelitis.


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