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.
A 64-year-old man, who had a history of hypertension, presented with headache and vomiting. CT scan showed SAH in the superior cerebellar cisterns []. DSA done revealed a fusiform aneurysm of the distal SCA, predominantly involving the branch of the cortical segment [Figures and ]. Standard heparin protocol was followed and an activated clotting time greater than 250 s was maintained during the procedure. 5F Envoy (cordis) guiding catheter was inserted in the distal vertebral artery. The aneurysm was accessed with a combination of micro-catheter (echelon-10) and micro-wire (traxcess12). Meticulous pre-shaping of the micro-catheter according to the shape of the target aneurysm aided in proper positioning of the micro-catheter in the aneurysm which was subsequently packed densely with the platinum micro-coils. Post-procedure angiogram showed complete exclusion of the aneurysm along with the branch of the cortical segment and preservation of the flow in the superior cerebellar artery (SCA) []. There were no untoward events in the post-procedure hospital stay and patient was discharged after 1 week. No neurological deficit was seen during the clinical follow-up after 1 month. Control angiogram carried out after 1 year showed stable occlusion of the aneurysm with preservation of the ante-grade flow in the SCA [].