A 60-year-old female presented with sudden onset of severe headache and back pain, followed by nausea. The initial head computed tomography (CT) scan revealed posterior fossa subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Spinal T 2 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated SAH, and a homogeneous and slightly low signal intensity mass at T11. Spinal angiography in the early arterial phase revealed a small pearl and string-like aneurysm of the proximal radiculomedullary artery on the left side at the T12 level. Forty days after the onset of SAH, CT angiography demonstrated complete occlusion of the dissecting aneurysm and the preserved anterior spinal artery. The present case of ruptured dissecting aneurysm of the radiculomedullary branch of the artery of Adamkiewicz with SAH underwent subsequent spontaneous occlusion, indicating that the wait-and-see strategy may be justified and will provide adequate treatment.
Intraoperative ICG videoangiography for spinal vascular lesions was useful by providing information on vascular dynamics directly. However, the diagnostic area is limited to the field of the surgical microscope. Although intraoperative digital subtraction angiography is still needed in cases of complex spinal vascular lesions, ICG videoangiography will be an important diagnostic modality in the field of spinal vascular surgeries.
A 47-year-old woman underwent decompressive suboccipital craniectomy and C1 laminectomy with duroplasty in the prone position for Chiari malformation type I and syringomyelia. The arachnoid membrane was not injured. Intraoperative echography showed good enlargement of the subarachnoid space. No closed subcutaneous drain was used. The patient complained of repeated nausea and vomiting 3 hours after the operation, and computed tomography revealed remote cerebellar hemorrhage on postoperative day 1. The cerebellar hemorrhage was treated conservatively, and the symptoms continued only for 3 days after surgery. Dural opening with rapid loss of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) has occurred in every reported case of remote cerebellar hemorrhage complicating intracranial and spinal procedures. Loss of CSF is the main pathogenesis of this condition. In our case, the most probable pathomechanism seems to involve stretching of the infratentorial cerebellar bridging veins due to cerebellar sagging because of dural opening in the prone position and drop in CSF pressure. Such a complication is rare but should be considered after foramen magnum decompression surgery if the patient shows unusual symptoms of repeated vomiting.
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