A 47-year-old man presented with sudden-onset headache and Fisher group 3 subarachnoid hemorrhage. The World Federation of Neurological Surgeons grade was II. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) only showed a vessel wall irregularity in the A1 segment of the right anterior cerebral artery (ACA), but an obvious bleeding source was not detected. Repeat angiography showed a tiny aneurysmal dilatation in the A1 segment with an intimal flap. The aneurysm enlarged on subsequent angiograms. Dissecting aneurysm was diagnosed, and the patient underwent internal trapping of the A1 segment to prevent rerupture. Postoperative DSA showed complete obliteration of the dissected segment. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a clinically silent cerebral infarction in the territory of the A1 segment perforators. Parent vessel occlusion for a dissected A1 segment can be effective, provided that sufficient collateral blood flow from the contralateral ACA is observed. We recommend endovascular trapping in this setting and hope that fellow clinicians select this approach for this rare pathology.
Middle meningeal arteriovenous fistula (MMAVF) is a shunt between the middle meningeal artery and the vein surrounding the artery. We report an extremely rare case of spontaneous MMAVF; then, we evaluated the effectiveness of trans-arterial embolization for spontaneous MMAVF and the possible cause of spontaneous MMAVF. A 42-year-old man with tinnitus, a left temporal headache, and pain surrounding the left mandibular joint was diagnosed with MMAVF on digital subtraction angiography. Trans-arterial embolization with detachable coils was conducted, which resulted in a fistula closure and symptoms' diminishment. The cause of MMAVF was thought to be the rupture of the middle meningeal artery aneurysm. A middle meningeal artery aneurysm can be a cause of spontaneous MMAVF, and trans-arterial embolization might be an optimal treatment.
Blood blister aneurysms (BBAs) or pseudoaneurysms (PAs) in the internal carotid artery (ICA) have fragile necks; therefore, conventional neck clipping is difficult. The standard treatment for BBAs or PAs is trapping with high or low flow bypass. However, there is no consensus on whether or not anterior clinoidectomy should be performed together. Two patients with ruptured ICA PA (anterior protrusion) or BBA (posterior protrusion) were presented to our hospital. Complete trapping was safely performed for both types of aneurysms via extradural anterior clinoidectomy and the extradural approach with dural incision. The advantages of the procedure are 1) safe proximal clipping, 2) early identification of the ICA C3 portion, 3) minimized frontal lobe retraction, 4) optic canal opening to allow mobility of the optic nerve, and 5) dural ring incision to allow mobility of the ICA.