title: Basilar artery dissection: A rare complication of posterior fossa epidermoid cyst resection, and evaluation of the possible effects of cerebrospinal fluid drainage on disease progression.
abstract: We report a rare case of a 45-year-old female with an unruptured basilar artery dissecting aneurysm presenting with locked-in syndrome due to brainstem ischemia eleven months following resection of a giant cerebellopontine angle epidermoid cyst and three months after insertion of ventriculo peritoneal shunt due to hydrocephalus. The etiology of basilar artery dissection and the effect of hydrocephalus and ventricular cerebrospinal fluid drainage on disease progression in this patient are unclear. Our report suggests a possible effect of hydrocephalus and ventricular cerebrospinal fluid drainage on intracranial arterial dissection progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, "Korgialenio Benakio" Red Cross Hospital of Athens, Erithrou Stavrou 1, 11526 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Stylianos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pikis
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
authors.forename: José E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem 91120, Israel. Electronic address: EmilM@hadassah.org.il.
authors.forename: Emil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Margolin
mesh_terms: D000784:Aortic Dissection / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000601:surgery*; D065634:Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak / Q000150:complications; D003388:Cranial Fossa, Posterior / Q000601:surgery*; D018450:Disease Progression; D004814:Epidermal Cyst / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000209:etiology*; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt / Q000009:adverse effects*
keywords: Basilar artery; Dissecting aneurysm; Hydrocephalus; Pathophysiology