Cerebellar infarction resulting from traumatic occlusion of a vertebral artery. Case report.
A case is reported of a patient who suffered a gunshot wound of the neck which resulted in occlusion of a vertebral artery. Within a few hours he deteriorated neurologically to a comatose state with a gaze paresis and a facial paresis ipsilateral to the occluded vertebral artery. The diagnosis of cerebellar infarction with brain-stem compression was made clinically, and a posterior fossa decompression was carried out promptly. The patient has made an excellent recovery. Cerebellar infarction, like cerebellar hemorrhage, may act as a posterior fossa mass requiring neurosurgical decompression. This report emphasizes that such a pathological process may occur after certain injuries that are likely to result in occlusion of a vertebral artery.
D000328:Adult; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000098:blood supply*; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019838:Neck Injuries; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000150:complications; D014711:Vertebral Artery; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000150:complications