Hematomas caused by ruptured traumatic pseudoaneurysms of the middle meningeal artery (MMA) usually present with extradural hematomas, whereas intradural intraparenchymal hematomas are extremely rare. We report a case of traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the MMA giving rise to an intracerebral hematoma after head trauma. A 70-year-old man suffered a massive intracerebral temporoparietal hemorrhage after a head injury. CT angiogram of the brain revealed a large hematoma in the right middle cranial fossa extending to the right sylvian fissure. Cerebral angiogram also revealed a pseudoaneurysm of the MMA, which was successfully treated surgically. Although traumatic MMA pseudoaneurysm producing intracerebral hematoma (ICH) is rare, it should be considered as a possible cause of intracerebral hematoma.

A lumbar drainage catheter is frequently placed intra-operatively to decrease fluid pressure on the brain in aneurysmal subarachnoid cases. In rare cases, this catheter placement can lead to intracranial hypotension, resulting in brain stem herniation termed “brain sag” and it can lead to neurological injury and may prove to be fatal. We present our patient with brain sag secondary to intraoperative lumbar drainage. A 56-year-old woman was admitted with a sudden onset of severe headache. A computed tomography (CT) scan revealed diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage with ruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysm. After general anesthesia, a lumbar drainage catheter was placed intra-operatively to reduce pressure on the brain and 50 cc of CSF was removed during a 5-h period. Three to five days after operation, her neurologic symptoms became worse with an altered mental state and pupillary asymmetry. CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed slit lateral ventricles, effacement of the cisterns and an elongated brain stem. After placing the patient in the Trendelenburg position, the patient rapidly recovered to her baseline neurologic state. Typical complications of subarachnoid hemorrhage such as vasospasm or hydrocephalus also manifest as neurological deterioration, but their treatments differ greatly from those for brain sag. Thusly, it is important to distinguish between causes. Treatments such as lumbar or extra-ventricular drainage, induced hypertension or administration of mannitol must be stopped once brain sag is suspected. Also, care should be taken for typical imaging features of brain sag on CT or MRI scan. For brain sag, placing the patient in the Trendelenburg position can improve neurological status in a rapid fashion. Brain sag is a rare but serious condition and can be fatal if not rapidly diagnosed and treated. We therefore recommend including brain sag in the differential diagnosis, along with vasospasm, hydrocephalus or cerebral edema as part of possible complications following subarachnoid hemorrhage treatment. We hope our clinical and imaging data from this case study contribute to the correct diagnosis of brain sag, as its early detection is important.

Joo SP, et al. Chonnam Med J. 2017 Jan;53(1):47-55. https://doi.org/10.4068/cmj.2017.53.1.47

Recently, microscope-integrated near infrared indocyanine green videoangiography (ICG-VA) has been widely used in cerebrovascular surgery because it provides real-time high resolution images. In our study, we evaluate the efficacy of intraoperative ICG-VA during cerebrovascular surgery. Between August 2011 and April 2012, 188 patients with cerebrovascular disease were surgically treated in our institution. We used ICG-VA in that operations with half of recommended dose (0.2 to 0.3 mg/kg). Postoperative digital subtraction angiography and computed tomography angiography was used to confirm anatomical results. Intraoperative ICG-VA demonstrated fully occluded aneurysm sack, no neck remnant, and without vessel compromise in 119 cases (93.7%) of 127 aneurysms. Eight clipping (6.3%) of 127 operations were identified as an incomplete aneurysm occlusion or compromising vessel after ICG-VA. In 41 (97.6%) of 42 patients after carotid endarterectomy, the results were the same as that of postoperative angiography with good patency. One case (5.9%) of 17 bypass surgeries was identified as a nonfunctioning anastomosis after ICG-VA, which could be revised successfully. In the two patients of arteriovenous malformation, ICG-VA was useful for find the superficial nature of the feeding arteries and draining veins. ICG-VA is simple and provides real-time information of the patency of vessels including very small perforators within the field of the microscope and has a lower rate of adverse reactions. However, ICG-VA is not a perfect method, and so a combination of monitoring tools assures the quality of cerebrovascular surgery.