The use of CT-angiography for monitoring thrombus formation after balloon occlusion of a dissecting vertebral artery pseudoaneurysm

We present a 49-year-old man with a subarachnoid haemorrhage from a dissecting vertebral artery (VA) pseudoaneurysm treated with a proximal balloon occlusion. The clinical course was complicated by the sudden appearance of a lateral medullary syndrome (Wallenberg), which completely resolved after anticoagulant therapy. During this course, CT-angiography (CTA) enabled monitoring of both the progression and partial resolution of the thrombus in the occluded VA. An anatomical variant of a perforating artery originating from the VA proximal to the posterior inferior cerebral artery (PICA) was subsequently demonstrated, explaining the ischemic event. The value of CTA in clinical management is discussed. The prophylactic use of anticoagulant therapy especially in the case of a perforating artery to the lateral medulla originating proximally to the PICA, is suggested. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.