A syndrome of spontaneous cerebral and cervical artery dissections with angiolipomatosis

2003 ◽  
Vol 98 (5) ◽  
pp. 1124-1127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wouter I. Schievink ◽  
Reid C. Thompson ◽  
William H. Yong

✓ A primary or systemic arteriopathy is frequently suspected in patients with spontaneous cerebral or cervical artery dissections. The authors report on two patients with such dissections accompanied by angiolipomatosis, a previously unreported association, and propose a common developmental defect in these patients. A 50-year-old man with subcutaneous angiolipomatosis developed painful monocular blindness. Angiography studies revealed a spontaneous extracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) dissection and an ipsilateral fusiform intracranial ICA aneurysm. The ICA dissection was treated with aspirin, and after 6 months a craniotomy was performed. The aneurysm was found to be fusiform; it involved the entire supraclinoid portion of the ICA, and was wrapped with cotton. A 49-year-old man with a congenitally bicuspid aortic valve and subcutaneous angiolipomatosis developed posterior neck pain. Magnetic resonance imaging and angiography demonstrated a fusiform distal vertebral artery aneurysm. A craniotomy was performed and the aneurysm was found to incorporate the posterior inferior cerebellar artery as well as a perforating artery; the lesion was wrapped with cotton. The tunica media of the arteries of the head and neck as well as the aortic valvular cusps are derived from neural crest cells, and angiolipomatosis has been associated with tumors of neural crest derivation. These associations indicate that a neural crest disorder may be the underlying abnormality in these patients.

1975 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amil James Gerlock

✓ The author reports a case of angiographically-demonstrated aneurysmal rupture, and reviews related reports.


1990 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 462-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
James I. Ausman ◽  
Fernando G. Diaz ◽  
Sean Mullan ◽  
Randy Gehring ◽  
Balaji Sadasivan ◽  
...  

✓ A case is presented in which a giant intracranial vertebral artery aneurysm gave rise to an associated ipsilateral posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) from its waist. Proximal vertebral artery ligation at C-1 was achieved. The aneurysm filled from the opposite vertebrobasilar junction. Direct intracranial trapping of the right vertebral aneurysm was followed by successful anastomosis of the proximally sectioned right PICA to the adjacent left PICA in an end-to-end fashion.


2002 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 692-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric L. Zager ◽  
Ellen G. Shaver ◽  
Robert W. Hurst ◽  
Eugene S. Flamm

✓ Aneurysms of the distal anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) are rare; fewer than 100 cases have been reported. The authors detail their experience with four cases and present endovascular as well as microsurgical management options. The medical records and neuroimaging studies obtained in four patients who were treated at a single institution were reviewed. Clinical presentations, neuroimaging and intraoperative findings, and clinical outcomes were analyzed. There were three men and one woman; their mean age was 43 years. Two patients presented with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and two presented with ataxia and vertigo (one with tinnitus, the other with hearing loss). Angiographic studies demonstrated aneurysms of the distal segment of the AICA. In one patient with von Hippel—Lindau syndrome and multiple cerebellar hemangioblastomas, a feeding artery aneurysm was found on a distal branch of the AICA. Three of the patients underwent successful surgical obliteration of their aneurysms, one by clipping, one by trapping, and one by resection along with the tumor. The fourth patient underwent coil embolization of the distal AICA and the aneurysm. All patients made an excellent neurological recovery. Patients with aneurysms in this location may present with typical features of an acute SAH or with symptoms referable to the cerebellopontine angle. Evaluation with computerized tomography, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, MR angiography, and digital subtraction angiography should be performed. For lesions distal to branches coursing to the brainstem, trapping and aneurysm resection are viable options that do not require bypass. Endovascular obliteration is also a reasonable option, although the possibility of retrograde thrombosis of the AICA is a concern.


1991 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 694-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan E. Hodes ◽  
Armand Aymard ◽  
Y. Pierre Gobin ◽  
Daniel Rüfenacht ◽  
Siegfried Bien ◽  
...  

✓ Among 121 intracerebral aneurysms presenting at one institution between 1984 and 1989, 16 were treated by endovascular means. All 16 lesions were intradural and intracranial, and had failed either surgical or endovascular attempts at selective exclusion with parent vessel preservation. The lesions included four giant middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms, one giant anterior communicating artery aneurysm, six giant posterior cerebral artery aneurysms, one posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysm, one giant mid-basilar artery aneurysm, two giant fusiform basilar artery aneurysms, and one dissecting vertebral artery aneurysm. One of the 16 patients failed an MCA test occlusion and was approached surgically after attempted endovascular selective occlusion. Treatment involved pretreatment evaluation of cerebral blood flow followed by a preliminary parent vessel test occlusion under neuroleptic analgesia with vigilant neurological monitoring. If the test occlusion was tolerated, it was immediately followed by permanent occlusion of the parent vessel with either detachable or nondetachable balloon or coils. The follow-up period ranged from 1 to 8 years. Excellent outcomes were obtained in 12 cases with complete angiographic obliteration of the aneurysm and no new neurological deficits and/or improvement of the pre-embolization symptoms. Four patients died: two related to the procedure, one secondary to rupture of another untreated aneurysm, and the fourth from a postoperative MCA thrombosis after having failed endovascular test occlusion. The angiographic, clinical, and cerebral blood flow criteria for occlusion tolerance are discussed.


1983 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 287-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Viñuela ◽  
Allan J. Fox ◽  
Shinichi Kan ◽  
Charles G. Drake

✓ A case is reported of a large spontaneous right posterior inferior cerebellar artery fistula in which the patient presented with a right cerebellopontine (CP) angle and right cerebellar syndrome. The patient was successfully treated by balloon occlusion at the fistula site. The location of the arteriovenous fistula, the mass effect of its enlarged draining veins on the cerebellum and CP angle structures, and the simple therapeutic endovascular occlusion with a detachable balloon make this case unique.


1996 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang Youl Lee ◽  
Laligam N. Sekhar

✓ The authors report three cases of ruptured, large or giant aneurysms that were treated by excision or trapping, followed by revascularization of distal vessels by means of arterial reimplantation or superficial temporal artery interpositional grafting. In the first case, a large serpentine aneurysm arising from the anterior temporal branch of the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) was excised and the distal segment of the anterior temporal artery was reimplanted into one of the branches of the MCA. In the second case, a giant aneurysm, fusiform in shape, arose from the rolandic branch of the MCA. This aneurysm was totally excised and the M3 branch in which it had been contained was reconstructed with an arterial interpositional graft. In the third case the patient, who presented with a subarachnoid hemorrhage, had a dissecting aneurysm that involved the distal portion of the left vertebral artery. In this case the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) arose from the wall of the aneurysm and coursed onward to supply the brainstem. This aneurysm was managed by trapping and the PICA was reimplanted into the ipsilateral large anterior inferior cerebellar artery. None of the patients suffered a postoperative stroke and all recovered to a good or excellent postoperative condition. These techniques allowed complete isolation of the aneurysm from the normal blood circulation and preserved the blood flow through the distal vessel that came out of the aneurysm. These techniques should be considered as alternatives when traditional means of cerebral revascularization are not feasible.


1994 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mazen H. Khayata ◽  
Robert F. Spetzler ◽  
Jan J. A. Mooy ◽  
James M. Herman ◽  
Harold L. Rekate

✓ The case is presented of a 5-year-old child who suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage from a giant left vertebral artery-posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) aneurysm. Initial treatment consisted of surgical occlusion of the parent vertebral artery combined with a PICA-to-PICA bypass. Because of persistent filling of the aneurysm, the left PICA was occluded at its takeoff from the aneurysm. Endovascular coil occlusion of the aneurysm and the distal left vertebral artery enabled complete elimination of the aneurysm. Follow-up magnetic resonance imaging and arteriography performed 6 months postoperatively showed persistent occlusion and elimination of the mass effect. Combined surgical bypass and endovascular occlusion of the parent artery may be a useful adjunct in the management of these aneurysms.


2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Pasco ◽  
Francine Thouveny ◽  
Xavier Papon ◽  
Jean-Yves Tanguy ◽  
Philippe Mercier ◽  
...  

✓ The posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) is known to be very variable, and some of its anatomical variations can explain ischemic complications that occur during endovascular treatment of aneurysms. The authors report two cases of anatomical variation of the PICA that they have called its double origin, one of which gave rise to an aneurysm. The first patient was a 36-year-old man who presented with a subarachnoid hemorrhage related to the rupture of a PICA aneurysm. The aneurysm was treated by the endovascular route. Selective and superselective studies showed that the PICA origin was low on the fourth segment of the vertebral artery (VA). The aneurysm was located on an anastomosis between the PICA and a small upper arterial branch originating from the VA. Embolization was performed through the small branch with no problem, but a lateral medullary infarct followed, probably due to occlusion of the perforating vessels. The same anatomical variation was incidentally discovered in the second patient. To the authors' knowledge, neither this anatomical variation of the PICA nor the aneurysm's topography have been previously described angiographically. This highlights the role of angiography in pretreatment evaluation of aneurysms especially when perforating vessels or small accessory branches that are poorly visualized on angiographic studies are concerned, as in the territory of the PICA. Anatomy is sometimes unpredictable, and the surgeon must be very careful when confronted with these variations because they are potentially dangerous for endovascular treatment.


1983 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 697-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Nishimoto ◽  
Shunichiro Fujimoto ◽  
Shoji Tsuchimoto ◽  
Yuzo Matsumoto ◽  
Kazuo Tabuchi ◽  
...  

✓ Three cases of aneurysms of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery are reported. Two of the aneurysms were located in the cerebellopontine angle and one in the ventral portion of the pons. Through a suboccipital craniectomy, neck clipping was perfomed on one aneurysm, neck ligation on another, and coating on the third. A discussion of the surgical procedures and complications includes a review of previous reports.


2002 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Michael Lemole ◽  
Jeffrey Henn ◽  
Sam Javedan ◽  
Vivek Deshmukh ◽  
Robert F. Spetzler

✓ Cerebral revascularization is often required for the surgical treatment of complex intracranial aneurysms. In certain anatomical locations, vascular anatomy and redundancy make in situ bypass possible. The authors present four patients who underwent revascularization performed using the rarely reported posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA)—PICA in situ bypass after their aneurysms had been trapped. At Barrow Neurological Institute, between 1991 and the present, four male patients underwent PICA—PICA bypasses to treat aneurysms involving the vertebral artery, the PICA, or both. The mean age of these patients was 34 years (range 5–49 years). Follow-up studies revealed patent bypasses and no evidence of infarction. Patient outcomes were excellent or good. Multiple surgical techniques have been described for revascularization of at-risk cerebral territories. Often, the blood supply must be derived from extracranial sources through a mobilized pedicle or interposited graft. Certain anatomical locations such as the vertebrobasilar junction, the anterior circle of Willis, and the middle cerebral artery bifurcation are amenable to in situ bypass because there is vessel redundancy or proximity to the contralateral analogous vessel. The advantages of an in situ bypass include one suture line, a short bypass distance, and a close match with the caliber of the recipient graft. Although technically challenging, this technique can be successful and should be considered for appropriate candidates.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document