Traumatic Dural Venous Sinus Injury / 대한신경손상학회지

OBJECTIVE: The importance of traumatic dural venous sinus injury lies in the probability of massive blood loss at the time of trauma or emergency operation resulting in a high mortality rate during the perioperative period. We considered the appropriate methods of treatment that are most essential in the overall management of traumatic dural venous sinus injuries. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of all cases involving patients with dural venous sinus injury who presented to our hospital between January 1999 and December 2014. RESULTS: Between January 1999 and December 2014, 20 patients with a dural venous sinus injury out of the 1,200 patients with severe head injuries who had been operated upon in our clinic were reviewed retrospectively. There were 17 male and 3 female patients. In 11 out of the 13 patients with a linear skull fracture crossing the dural venous sinus, massive blood loss from the injured sinus wall could be controlled by simple digital pressure using Gelfoam. All 5 patients with a linear skull fracture parallel to the sinus over the venous sinus developed massive sinus bleeding that could not be controlled by simple digital pressure. CONCLUSION: When there is a linear skull fracture parallel to the sinus over the dural venous sinus or a depressed skull fracture penetrating the sinus, the surgeon should be prepared for the possibility of potentially fatal venous sinus injury, even in the absence of a hematoma.

An Unusual Case of a Thrombosed Giant Distal PICA Aneurysm Simulating a Large Cavernous Angioma

A 64-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with a one-month history of progressive headache. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a hemorrhagic mass adjacent to the left inferior cerebellar hemisphere associated with a peripheral rim of signal void. Angiography demonstrated an avascular mass and the provisional diagnosis was a large cavernous angioma in the cerebellum. Intraoperative findings revealed a thrombosed giant aneurysm of the left distal posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA). We report an unusual case of a completely thrombosed giant aneurysm simulating a large cavernous angioma in the cerebellum. The cerebellar cisternal location of the mass may be a clue for the pre-operative diagnosis of an aneurysm.

Intracerebral Hematoma Caused by Ruptured Traumatic Pseudoaneurysm of the Middle Meningeal Artery: A Case Report

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.