Unruptured aneurysm producing thunderclap headache treated with endovascular coil embolization.

The abrupt onset of acute, high-intensity headache, unlike any experienced before, can be an urgent medical condition, which requires attention. A 32-year-old female patient developed thunderclap headache attacks had applied with increasing intensity and frequency since 1 week. She had visited the emergency department several times, and cranial computed tomography findings were normal. On the last presentation, neurological examination showed complete oculomotor nerve palsy on the left. Brain magnetic resonance imaging together with intracranial brain angiography revealed left posterior communicating aneurysm compressing the ipsilateral oculomotor nerve, with no evidence of subarachnoid hemorrhage. The patient was treated with endovascular balloon-assisted coil embolization of the aneurysm under digital subtraction angiography. As a result, the headache resolved soon after the intervention. Furthermore, complete ptosis recovered by the third month. Although thunderclap headache has rarely been attributed to an enlarging unruptured cerebral aneurysm, early recognition and treatment are rather important as it may indicate a high risk of rupture.

Endovascular treatment of acute tandem occlusion strokes and stenting first experience.

This study demonstrates the radiologic and clinical findings, etiologies and intervention strategy in 8 acute ischemic stroke patients with tandem occlusions. The mean age was 57 and mean NIHSS score was 19. Stent-assisted thrombectomy (SAT) was performed on all of the patients. Additionally, 6 patients underwent carotid artery stenting before SAT. Recanalization with TICI≥2b was attained in 7/8 patients. The 90thday median mRS was 2 and mortality was 1/8. The etiologies of the tandem occlusions were either extracranial high grade ICA stenosis/occlusion or cervical ICA dissection. When the stent-first approach was applied with distal thrombectomy, high TICI and low mRS scores were obtained.

The role of diffusion-weighted imaging in prediction liver iron concentration in beta-thalassaemia patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyse the value of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) to determine the liver parenchyma iron concentration in ß-thalassaemia major patients. METHODS: Abdominal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, including gradient echo sequences and DWI sequences, was undertaken of 55 ß-thalassaemia major patients. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of liver parenchyma were measured in seven regions at the level of the portal bifurcation and compared with liver iron concentration (LIC). Patients with normal and mild liver dry weight (LDW) results were classified as group 1, whereas patients with moderate and severe values were classified as group 2. RESULTS: There was a dramatic decrease in ADC values as the severity of LIC increased. The median ADC values were 1.6-1.9 × 10-3  mm2 /sec in group 1 and 0.6-0.9 × 10-3  mm2 /sec in group 2. A negative correlation was observed between ADC and the LDW values in both groups. The ADC and LIC correlation in each subgroup was statistically significant with asymptotic 95% confidence intervals of 0.820-0.997. CONCLUSION: Diffusion-weighted imaging is sensitive to tissue changes as a result of iron accumulation and may be used to predict liver iron overload in ß-thalassaemia major patients with a high sensitivity and specificity.

Aetiologies of internal carotid artery pseudo-occlusions in acute stroke patients: what neurointerventionalists can expect.

In cases of acute stroke, differentiation between an occluded and a patent internal carotid artery (ICA) is crucial for diagnosis and management. Although CT angiography (CTA) can be highly accurate in defining high-grade stenosis and ICA occlusions, misleading ICA occlusion patterns are not rare in patients with acute stroke. We investigated the underlying causes of ICA pseudo-occlusions with CTA with respect to digital subtraction angiography. 11 out of 72 patients had pseudo-occlusion on CTA. Of these, there were three cases of tandem occlusions accompanying high-grade ICA stenosis, five cases of Distal ICA bifurcation occlusion as a result of atrial fibrillation, two cases of cervical ICA dissection and one acute thrombosis of the stent. Consideration of the aforementioned aetiologies by interventionists is warranted, as it may change the planning of endovascular intervention and treatment of acute stroke.

Dissection of Extracranial Internal Carotid Artery Due to Balloon Guiding Catheter Resulting in Asymptomatic Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion.

Dissection of the internal carotid artery (ICA) is a rare condition that accounts for a significant proportion of ischemic strokes in young adults. Iatrogenic dissection as a complication of neurointerventional procedures is a traumatic dissection which has been reported relatively rare in the literature. In this report, a case of dissection of the ICA is reported that was caused by repetitive movement of the balloon guiding catheter during stent-assisted thrombectomy (SAT), resulting in occlusion of the ICA.

The DERIVO Embolization Device in the Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysms: Short- and Midterm Results.

OBJECTIVE: The DERIVO embolization device (DED) is a new nitinol flow diverter stent manufactured for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms. In this study, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of the DED in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms and present the short- and midterm results. METHODS: We treated 34 aneurysms using 26 devices in 24 patients with wide-necked, mostly medium-sized, and fusiform aneurysms. Fourteen of the patients included in the study were women and the other 10 were men. Headache was the most frequent symptom. Although 31 (91.2%) aneurysms were in the anterior circulation, 3 (8.8%) were in the posterior. Intracranial stent medication was accomplished in all patients. All patients were evaluated 1 day later for any ischemic lesion with diffusion-weighted imaging. The first and second follow-up angiograms were planned to be performed after 3 and 9 months. RESULTS: In all patients, the treatment was successful. No hemorrhagic complication was seen on computed tomography scan performed immediately after the procedure. All patients were discharged without any neurologic deficit. Although 20 (71.4%) of 28 aneurysms in 20 patients were totally closed on the 3-month follow-up angiogram, 14 (77.8%) of 18 aneurysms in 9 patients were totally closed on the 9-month follow-up. General morbidity was 8.4%, and mortality was 4.3%. CONCLUSIONS: The DED seems effective and safe in the treatment of different kinds of intracranial aneurysms.

Endovascular treatment of a case presented as isolated superior mesenteric artery dissection.

[No Available Abstract].

Periprocedural complications in endovascular stroke treatment.

Endovascular stroke treatment is a neurointerventional emergency where the main goal is the early recanalization of the occlusion within the critical time window, as safely as possible. Although the time window and rate of complications for endovascular stroke treatment differ with anterior and posterior circulation strokes, awareness of potential periprocedural complications is important, as they affect patient morbidity and mortality. Periprocedural complications are classified as haemorrhagic complications, procedure-/device-related, puncture site complications, and late-onset events including vascular stenosis. We present the digital subtraction angiography and CT imaging findings related to these complications in a study of 56 stroke patients, as they relate to previous findings in the literature.

Autologous blood clot embolisation in posttraumatic high-flow priapism.

Non-ischemic, high-flow priapism is defined as the state of painless and permanent erection of the penis which generally develops by perineal trauma. Selective transarterial embolisation is one of the treatment options. We present an 18-year-old men who had complaints of painless and permanent erection after a blunt perineal trauma. Colour Doppler ultrasound revealed a pseudoaneurysm and fistula at the left cavernosal artery. Hence autologous blood clot injection was performed to embolise the pseudoaneurysm. Due to the recanalization on the postprocedural seventh day, second embolisation was performed. One month after the second procedure, colour Doppler ultrasound revealed a 50% shrink but mild refilling in the pseudoaneurysm, whereas complete thrombus formation was observed on follow-up imaging. His priapism had fully recovered and erectile functions were totally normal at the six months and one year follow up. Autologous blood clot embolisation seems as a safe and successful treatment.

A rare cyclic recurrent hematuria case; bladder endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a benign gynecological disease that is characterized by the presence of functional endometrial tissue outside the uterus. Although the ovaries and uterine ligaments are the most common locations, urinary tract involvement especially the bladder endometriosis is a rare entity in women of reproductive age with clinical symptoms of cyclical urgency, hematuria and suprapubic pain. We herein present magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of spontaneous bladder endometriosis case with cyclical hematuria symptoms.

Age-related morphologic changes of the vertebral artery in the transverse process. Analysis by multidetector computed tomography angiography.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: The V2 segment of the vertebral artery (VA) ascends and passes through the transverse foramen (TF) of the C6-C1 vertebrae. Atherosclerosis of the VA and degenerative changes in the cervical spine are likely to occur with aging, and subsequent morphologic changes may alter the normal anatomy. PURPOSE: The aim was to determine the morphologic changes of TF and VA in relation to aging. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study. PATIENT SAMPLE: One hundred ten consecutive patients who had undergone computed tomography angiography were included. METHODS: The subjects were then divided into three groups according to age: Group A, less than 45 years; Group B, from 45 to 65 years; and Group C, older than 65 years. Cases with stenosis and dissection of the VA were excluded from the quantitative analysis. The areas of the VA and TF were measured, and the VA/TF occupation ratio (OR) was calculated accordingly. The presence of VAs tortuosity within the TF was also noted. RESULTS: The TF was larger in the oldest group, but the difference was not statistically significant. There was also no significant statistical difference among the age groups in terms of the VA and VA/TF ORs (p>.05). In the Group C, the rate of overall tortuosity of the VA was 73%, and arterial tortuosity in the TF was 28.6%. In cases with tortuous VA, C6 and C4 TFs were found to be significantly larger. CONCLUSIONS: Tortuous VAs tend to be associated with enlargement of C6 and C4 TFs. Knowledge of such changes in the anatomy is crucial during instrumentation used for cervical spine surgeries, to prevent serious complications in patients aged older than 65 years.

Early middle cerebral artery stenosis following stent-assisted thrombectomy.

Stent-assisted thrombectomy (SAT) is an extensively used endovascular treatment method for stroke in which the thrombectomy stents come into direct contact with the vascular intimal surface and entrap the thrombus causing the arterial occlusion. Although there are a few studies that demonstrate that the vessel wall changes in the arteries where stroke intervention is performed, we observed progressive stenosis in early follow-up imaging studies in a case. We present a middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke patient who had four repetitive stent passes during SAT and developed distal MCA stenosis 2 months after SAT at the control magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). Inclusion of early follow-up MRA studies would be helpful in defining the silent vascular changes in patients who have undergone repetitive SAT.

Imaging findings of an unusually located hydatid cyst presented as a sacrococcygeal mass.

Hydatid disease (HD) is a parasitic infection that is most commonly caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus. Unusual location for this disease can cause diagnostic and therapeutic problems. We herein report a case of sacrococcygeal HD at an unusual location in a 30-year-old woman. She was evaluated using computed tomography (CT) imaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after the demonstration of the lucent bone lesion on plain pelvic radiography. There was an expansile lytic mass without contrast enhancement suggesting a cystic mass in the sacrococcygeal region. Medical history revealed that she had undergone surgery for liver HD and the serological test results were diagnostic for HD. In light of this, no surgery was carried out for this cystic mass and she was followed with the diagnosis of sacrococcygeal HD.

The Radiologic Evaluation of Pediatric Acute Abdomen; Results of Tertiary Referral Center.

Purpose: In this study we aimed to evaluate the radiological examinations of the pediatric patients who were operated with initial diagnosis of acute abdomen. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records and imaging findings of 252 children. All patients were evaluated by plain abdominal radiographs (PAX) and ultrasonography (US). Only 10 patients were examined using computed tomography (CT). The findings of the PAX, US and CT of each patient were determined from their detailed archive records according to their clinical diagnosis. Results: The most frequent pathology was appendicitis in our study whereas the other pathologies were invagination, ovarian torsion, the complications of Meckel's diverticulum, gastrointestinal obstruction and tuboovarian abscess in decreasing frequency. PAXs were valuable in diagnosis of the patients with ileus. It has been showed that US was the most useful for patients with appendicitis and invagination. CT was performed only in 4% of our cases as an advanced diagnostic method. Conclusion: The pediatric patients with acute abdomen have been evaluated radiologically by PAX and US routinely and frequently. CT was performed as an advanced diagnostic method very rarely. CT would be utilized to a lower extent as a more advanced method of imaging in unsolved patient group, as US and PAX solve the pediatric acute abdominal pathologies in high percentages.

Spontaneous Solitaire™ AB thrombectomy stent detachment during stroke treatment.

Spontaneous Solitaire™ stent retriever detachment is a rarely defined entity seen during stroke treatment, which can result in a disastrous clinical outcome if it cannot be solved within a critical stroke treatment time window. Two solutions to this problem are presented in the literature. The first is to leave the stent in place and apply angioplasty to the detached stent, while the second involves surgically removing the stent from the location at which it detached. Here, we present a case of inadvertent stent detachment during stroke treatment for a middle cerebral artery M1 occlusion resulting in progressive thrombosis. The detached stent was removed endovascularly by another Solitaire stent, resulting in the recanalization of the occluded middle cerebral artery.