Vertebral arterial dissection associated with Klippel-Feil syndrome in a child.
BACKGROUND
Vertebral artery dissection resulting in stroke is rare in children. We report here on a 7-year-old boy with Klippel-Feil abnormality, who presented with a pontine infarction after a supervised swimming session.


METHODS
Evaluation after a second acute neurological event included a formal cerebral angiogram, which revealed a complete upper basilar artery occlusion and right vertebral arterial dissection. Cervical spine radiographs demonstrated an associated fusion of the C2 and C3 vertebrae. Anticoagulation therapy was initiated, and the neurological deficits associated with the pontine infarction resolved. Anticoagulation was discontinued after 6 months of therapy, with no recurrence of symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
Vertebral artery dissection may rarely be associated with Klippel-Feil abnormality in children.
Hasan
I
I
Department of Neurosurgery, New York Medical College, Valhalla and New York, NY 10595, USA.
Wapnick
S
S
Kutscher
M L
ML
Couldwell
W T
WT
D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000209:etiology*; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000209:etiology*; D007714:Klippel-Feil Syndrome / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011149:Pons; D014711:Vertebral Artery
D000925:Anticoagulants