Republished: Primary intraventricular haemorrhage due to rupture of giant varix of the basal vein of Rosenthal in a patient with long-standing direct CCF: angiographic features and treatment considerations

Direct carotid cavernous fistulae (CCF) are often detected early and treated promptly resulting in a paucity of literature regarding its long-term evolution. We present a case of high flow post-traumatic direct CCF that was neglected for over 6 years and presented with a rare manifestation of primary intraventricular haemorrhage. Occlusions of the primary venous outlets likely resulted in engorgement of the deep venous system. The segmental anatomy of the shunting basal vein is critical to the clinical presentation and may range from basal ganglia or brainstem oedema/infarctions to uniquely, as in our case, isolated intraventricular haemorrhage secondary to variceal rupture. Treatment in such chronic cases requires a consideration of cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome necessitating deconstructive techniques with subsequent anticoagulation to avoid accelerated thrombosis of the venous varices.

Surgical management of pineal region lesions

Lesions in the pineal region are topographically located in the centre of the brain in the diencephalic-epithalamic region. An area where the brain is bounded ventrally by the quadrigeminal plate, midbrain tectum, and in-between the left and right superior colliculi, dorsally by the splenium of the corpus callosum, caudally by the cerebellar vermis and rostrally by the posterior aspects of the third ventricle. Major anatomical and surgical challenges are the vein of Galen located dorsally, the precentral cerebellar vein caudally, the internal cerebral veins anteriorly and the basal vein of Rosenthal laterally. Most pineal region tumours can be safely removed by both approaches depending on the surgeon’s experience: the occipital transtentorial approach is recommended in presence of associated hydrocephalus or a steep straight sinus and low location of the tumour and the supracerebellar infratentorial approach for posterior third ventricle tumours.

Transtentorial Approach for Parahippocampal Gyrus Arteriovenous Malformation Resection: 3-Dimensional Operative Video

Medial temporal basal arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) have complex anatomy. They usually drain to the basal vein of Rosenthal, and arterial feeders can arise from the anterior choroidal artery and its branches, or from the posterior cerebral artery. If the AVM is more posterior in the parahippocampal gyrus, there is a predominance of arterial feeders arising from P2P or P3 segments of the posterior cerebral artery. As posterior AVMs are difficult to reach using anterior approaches, the supracerebellar transtentorial approach provides a direct pathway to the malformation, allowing better visualization and exposure of the vascular anatomy. In this video, we present a 29-yr-old woman with a left parahippocampal AVM with P2P arterial feeders and Rosenthal basal vein drainage. The patient had three months of moderate headache and two abrupt seizures before admission. Emergency computed tomography showed intraventricular hemorrhage. Magnetic resonance imaging and cerebral angiography revealed an AVM located in the parahippocampal gyrus, posterior to pulvinar thalamus. The patient underwent microsurgical treatment in semi-sitting position using a supracerebellar and infratentorial approach with transtentorial resection. The AVM was completely removed, and the patient recovered without neurological deficits. The authors present a 3-dimensional video of the microsurgical steps required to perform a transtentorial approach for AVM resection in the parahippocampal gyrus. The patient signed the Institutional Consent Form, which allows the use of his/her images and videos for any type of medical publications in conferences and/or scientific articles.

Assessment of intracranial venous blood flow after subarachnoid hemorrhage: a new approach to diagnose vasospasm with transcranial color-coded duplex sonography

OBJECTIVETranscranial color-coded duplex sonography (TCCS) is a reliable tool that is used to assess vasospasm in the M1 segment of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). A distinct increase in blood flow velocity (BFV) is the principal criterion for vasospasm. The MCA/internal carotid artery (ICA) index (Lindegaard Index) is also widely used to distinguish between vasospasm and cerebral hyperperfusion. However, extracranial ultrasonography assessment of the neck vessels might be difficult in an intensive care unit. Therefore, the authors evaluated whether the relationship of intracranial arterial to venous BFV might indicate vasospasm with similar or even better accuracy.METHODSPatients who presented between 2008 and 2015 with aneurysmal SAH were prospectively enrolled in the study. Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and TCCS were performed within 24 hours of each other to assess vasospasm 8–10 days after SAH. The following different TCCS parameters were analyzed to assess vasospasm in the MCA and were compared with the gold-standard DSA parameters: 1) mean time-averaged maximum BFV (Vmean) of the MCA, 2) peak systolic velocity (PSV) of the MCA, 3) the Lindegaard Index using Vmean as well as PSV, and 4) a new arteriovenous index (AVI) between the MCA and the basal vein of Rosenthal using Vmean and PSV. The best cutoff values for these parameters to distinguish vasospasm from normal perfusion or hyperperfusion were calculated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value as well as the overall accuracy for each cutoff value were analyzed.RESULTSA total of 102 patients (mean age 52 ± 12 years) were evaluated. Bilateral MCA assessment by TCCS was successful in all patients. In 6 cases (3%), the BFV of the basal vein of Rosenthal could not be analyzed. The AVI could not be calculated in 50 of 204 cases (25%) because the insonation quality was very low in one of the ICAs. An AVI > 10 for Vmean and an AVI > 12 for systolic velocity provided the highest accuracies of 87% and 86%, respectively. Regarding the Lindegaard Index, the accuracy was highest using a threshold of > 3 for the mean BFV (84%) as well as systolic BFV (80%). BFVs in the MCA of ≥ 120 cm/sec (Vmean) and ≥ 200 cm/sec (PSV) predicted vasospasm with accuracies of 84% and 83%, respectively. A combined analysis of the MCA BFV and the AVI led to a slight increase in specificity (Vmean, 94%; PSV, 93%) and positive predictive value (Vmean, 88%; PSV 86%) without further improvement in accuracy (Vmean, 88%; PSV, 84%).CONCLUSIONSThe intracranial AVI is a reliable parameter that can be used to assess vasospasm after SAH. Its reliability for differentiating vasospasm and hyperperfusion is slightly higher than that for the established Lindegaard Index, and this method has the additional advantage of a remarkably lower failure rate.

Contralateral extensive cerebral hemorrhagic venous infarction caused by retrograde venous reflux into the opposite basal vein of Rosenthal in posttraumatic carotid-cavernous fistula: A case report and literature review

We describe a patient with traumatic carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF), subsequently developing contralateral extensive hemorrhagic venous infarction from retrograde venous reflux into the opposite basal vein of Rosenthal. A 54-year-old woman was involved in a motor vehicle accident and sustained severe traumatic brain injury. Two months later, she developed bilateral proptosis and audible bruit. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) of the brain demonstrated the right direct CCF. Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images showed a small hyperintense area at the left basal ganglia. Ten days later, she developed right-sided grade 2/5 hemiparesis, facial upper motor neuron weakness, and cognitive impairment. Follow-up MRI showed significant progression of hyperintensities involving the left-sided centrum semiovale, basal ganglia, thalamus, midbrain, pons, cerebellum, basal frontal, temporal lobes, especially subcortical white matter on FLAIR images, and multiple hypointense foci of hemorrhagic component on T2*-weighted gradient-echo images, representing hemorrhagic venous infarction. While waiting for embolization, she rapidly developed right hemiplegia and aphasia, and became somnolent. Under general anesthesia, emergency endovascular treatment was performed successfully to obliterate the fistula without surgical intervention. Five months after endovascular treatment, MRI and MRA confirmed no residual fistula and revealed nearly complete resolution of abnormal increased signal intensity. In the present case, the factors related to the presence of this rare condition were absence of the ipsilateral basal vein of Rosenthal (BVR), occlusion of posterior segment of the contralateral superior petrosal sinus, and a developed uncal vein with hypoplastic second and third segments of the contralateral BVR.