Intracranial vertebral artery dissection presenting as subarachnoid hemorrhage: successful endovascular treatment.
BACKGROUND
Intracranial vertebral artery dissection is a rare condition which may present as subarachnoid hemorrhage. In this situation, treatment is controversial.


METHODS
A case of intracranial right vertebral artery dissection in a 55-year-old woman presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage is reported. The patient underwent therapeutic occlusion of the dissected artery through microcatheterization using pushing detachable platinum microcoils and had a good outcome. At this moment, the patient has a normal neurologic examination and a control digital subtraction angiography 1 year after the procedure showed an occluded right vertebral artery at V3; there was retrograde flow in the right intracranial vertebral artery up to the origin of a meningeal branch; the artery was thin and had mural irregularities, without any evidence of aneurismatic dilatation.


CONCLUSIONS
We review the literature and discuss the role of endovascular therapy and other therapeutic options in the treatment of this condition.
Conforto
A B
AB
Department of Neurology, Hospital das Clínicas, São Paulo University, Brazil.
Yamamoto
F
F
Evaristo
E F
EF
Puglia
P
P
Caldas
J G
JG
Scaff
M
M
D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020766:Intracranial Embolism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008875:Middle Aged; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014711:Vertebral Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*