title: Acute expansion of an asymptomatic posterior communicating artery aneurysm resulting in oculomotor nerve palsy.
abstract: Acute expansion of an intracranial aneurysm is an extremely rare event. In this report, we describe the unusual radiographic documentation of acute expansion of a posterior communicating artery (PCOM) aneurysm from 4 to 8 mm, resulting in complete oculomotor nerve palsy. A 40-year-old man was admitted to our institution with a 3-week history of persistent occipital headaches but was otherwise neurologically intact. CT angiography demonstrated a 4 mm left PCOM aneurysm. Digital subtraction angiography performed several hours following presentation demonstrated an expansion in aneurysm size to 8 mm with new-onset complete oculomotor nerve palsy. The aneurysm was successfully obliterated by clip ligation. Although growth in aneurysm size is often a progressive phenomenon, acute expansions of aneurysms can occur.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Arnold B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Etame
authors.forename: J Nicole
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.forename: Aditya S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Pandey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015901:Angiography, Digital Subtraction; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D015840:Oculomotor Nerve Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome