Traumatic aneurysms of cerebral vessels: a case study and review of the literature.
Traumatic cerebral aneurysms (TCAs) are rare: few more than 100 cases are recorded in the world literature. TCAs are located predominantly in the supratentorial compartment and are classified as either "true" or "false." A true aneurysm is a dilation resulting from partial disruption of the arterial wall. A false aneurysm results from a full-thickness tear, with the scar from the brain tissue or an organized hematoma acting as the aneurysmal wall. The authors present a case of a false traumatic aneurysm of the pericallosal artery, which was discovered in a young patient fourteen months after a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. The aneurysm was an incidental finding on a CT scan performed for the investigation of his late posttraumatic seizures. Its presence was confirmed by angiography. The interval between the traumatic episode and the diagnosis of a TCA usually ranges from a few hours to a few weeks, for most are discovered by angiography performed in the acute or subacute stage of a head injury. The long interval between the injury and the diagnosis in our case is exceptional. A previous CT scan done four months after the injury did not reveal the aneurysm, which strongly suggests a protracted growth of the aneurysmal sac long after the trauma.
D000328:Adult; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D012640:Seizures / Q000209:etiology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014948:Wounds, Gunshot / Q000150:complications