History & examination\nA 31-year-old African-American female with no significant medical history presented with a sudden onset of severe headaches that were highly suggestive of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The patient was initially evaluated in the emergency department where a neurological examination revealed no deficits.\nPathological findings\nA computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a SAH filling the pre-pontine, crural, ambient, and quadrigeminal cisterns more prominently on the left side of the brain, with mild hydrocephalus (Figure ). A CT-angiography (CTA) showed an enlarged vessel within the left ambient cistern. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) also revealed the large and irregular appearance of the left SCA in the ambient cistern. No immediate intervention was undertaken.\nThe patient was admitted to the neurosurgical intensive care unit (ICU) and treatment was initiated with regular neurological examinations and daily transcranial-doppler (TCD) studies. The patient remained intact, with TCD values showing only moderate vasospasm. The patient did not require any treatment for the mild radiographic hydrocephalus. On Day 14, the patient underwent a repeat DSA which showed a persistent vasospasm in the distal basilar and bilateral posterior cerebral arteries. Three-dimensional (3-D) reformatting also demonstrated a dissecting fusiform SCA aneurysm in the lateral ponto-mesencephalic segment (Figure ). Due to the persistent vasospasm, no intervention was undertaken at that time as definitive treatment measures were being discussed in a multidisciplinary board meeting.\nEndovascular intervention\nOn Day 21, the patient underwent a successful placement of a low-profile visualized intraluminal support (LVIS Jr.) device (MicroVention, Tustin, CA) covering the fusiform aneurysm, which measured 3-mm wide and 18-mm in length. After premedication with aspirin and clopidogrel, a 7-Fr sheath was inserted into the common femoral artery and a 6-Fr guide catheter was inserted into the left vertebral artery. The left SCA was catheterized using the microcatheter and microguidewire. The LVIS Jr. device was then deployed successfully along the fusiform segment of the SCA without evidence of contrast extravasation. The treatment goal was to preserve the intraluminal flow with flow diversion from the aneurysm for reduction and eventual obliteration.\nPostoperative course\nAt the three-month follow-up, the patient had no complaint and was neurologically intact on examination. A CTA performed at that time showed the SCA patency proximal and distal to the stent without evidence of persistent dilatation or an aneurysm (Figure ). A formal catheter angiogram was deferred by the patient. At the 10-month follow-up, a DSA demonstrated the interval healing of the aneurysm with preserved vessel patency as well as mild distortion caused by the stent in the SCA (Figure ). The patient remained neurologically intact on examination with no complaints.
A 56-year-old male patient came to the emergency room due to a right-sided occipital headache and vertigo, which suddenly began three days before the visit, and a symptom of tilting to the right, which began one day before the visit. There was no history of an external injury within the past one week. The patient did not have any underlying diseases, history of migraines, or risk factors for stroke, except for smoking. He also did not have a history of taking antiplatelet agents. When the patient visited the emergency room, his blood pressure was 160/100 mmHg, the pulse rate was 62/min, breathing rate was 19/min, and body temperature was 36.5 °C. The results of a neurological examination showed lateropulsion to the right side, hypoesthesia on the right side of the face, ataxia in the right upper and lower limbs, and the NIH stroke scale was 2. The results of serological studies and electrocardiography were normal.\nThe diagnosis was determined to be an acute ischemic stroke because the diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) of MRI revealed a high signal intensity area in the right lateral medulla. CT angiography (CTA) was taken first at 3 days after the symptom occurred. HR vw-MRI was taken a day after (at the 4th-day). The right PICA was not observed in the first CTA, and partial spontaneous recanalization was observed on the time-of-flight MR angiography (TOF-MRA), which was taken one day after. Moreover, the sagittal 3D T1 weighted HR vw-MRI showed a T1 hyperintense intramural hematoma in the right proximal PICA (Fig. ). However, a T2 weighted 3D curved MPR image revealed the luminal dilation and intimal flap in the right proximal PICA (Fig. ). The patient was diagnosed with spontaneous isolated PICA dissection on the basis of the neurological symptoms and imaging. He was treated with antiplatelet agents and the neurological symptoms of the patient improved during course of admission.