Patients who have undergone a Blalock-Taussig anastomosis for treatment of congenital heart disease may have the vascular anatomy of the subclavian steal syndrome. Cerebral ischemia has been reported in such patients, but not when total surgical correction has eliminated other predisposing factors. We report a patient who developed vertebrobasilar insufficiency 31 years after Blalock-Taussig an...

BACKGROUND Vascular risk factors predispose to vertebrobasilar ischemia. Cervical osteophytes can impinge on the vertebral artery causing mechanical occlusion during head turning. Presentation with vertigo in such instances is a common finding. CASE PRESENTATION A patient with obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, cervical spondylosis, and vertigo triggered by head rotation is presented. She...

Surgical management of patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency has been developed within the past decade. Cerebral angiography plays a crucial role in identifying potential surgical candidates and in directing the surgical approach. Fifty-two patients underwent brainstem revascularization procedures at Henry Ford Hospital between November 1979 and August 1985. Twelve occipital artery to ant...

BACKGROUND The blood-brain barrier may be permeable under the clinical settings of uncontrolled hypertension, renal insufficiency, immunosuppressive drugs, and intravascular radiographic contrast. Some reversible neurological complications after angiography are caused by cortical penetration of contrast media detected on brain computed tomographic (CT) scans. OBJECTIVES To describe the first ...

Bow hunter's syndrome (BHS) is a rare cause of vertebrobasilar insufficiency that occurs when the vertebral artery (VA) is occluded on rotation of the head and neck. This dynamic occlusion of the VA can occur anywhere along its course after it arises from the subclavian artery. Although most cases are associated with compression by osteophytes, cervical spondylosis, or lateral disc herniation, ...

A 67-year-old man with medically refractory vertebrobasilar insufficiency and short segment occlusions of the intracranial vertebral arteries was treated with angioplasty and stent placement. Fifteen hours after the procedure the patient developed symptoms of posterior fossa ischemia and repeat angiography showed thrombus formation within the stent which was treated with thrombolytic and aggres...

PURPOSE To characterize the clinical, MR, MR angiographic, and conventional angiographic findings in vertebrobasilar disease in children. METHODS Eight children with posterior circulation ischemia and infarction had conventional spin-echo MR and MR angiography of the head and neck. Six patients had conventional angiography. RESULTS Six patients had alteration of vertebral or basilar artery ...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Journal articles relevant to the diagnosis and treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency were reviewed. All studies ascertained by PubMed search were included. RECENT FINDINGS Studies reported on the application of magnetic resonance scanning, reliability tests of the International Working Group diagnostic protocol, the use of nasometry, and techniques designed to assess the...

Spontaneous intracranial vertebrobasilar dissection can manifest with various clinical symptoms, including subarachnoid hemorrhage or ischemic symptoms from impaired posterior circulation. A 29-year-old woman came to our emergency department with a sudden onset of left sided mild motor weakness and headache. Initial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed mild luminal irregularities in the vert...