title: Vascular reconstruction of a vertebral artery loop causing cervical radiculopathy and vertebrobasilar insufficiency. Case report.
abstract: The authors present the case of a 62-year-old man with a 4-month history of progressive left-sided C-5 radiculopathy and dizziness. Neuroimaging studies revealed a looped vertebral artery (VA) that had migrated into the widened left C4-5 intervertebral foramen. The patient underwent vascular reconstruction of the VA loop, in which there was minimal manipulation of the C-5 nerve root, via a left-sided anterolateral approach after a balloon occlusion test. Postoperatively the patient's symptoms improved immediately, and there were no signs of recurrence within the 2-year follow-up period. This excellent outcome supports the belief that a proper surgical reconstruction of the compressive, tortuous VA should be the therapeutic option of choice, which carries a lower risk of the nerve root injury and improves the hemodynamics in the posterior circulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Kuwana Municipal Hospital, Japan. sakaida@hsp.ncvc.go.jp
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sakaida
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
mesh_terms: D000792:Angiography; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000209:etiology*; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000601:surgery; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D014715:Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology*