Surgical Management of a Spinal Dural Arteriovenous Fistula

Joseph Yunga Tigre; Meredith C Costello; Krisna Maddy; Emily L Errante; Connor C Berger; Stephen S Burks

doi:10.7759/cureus.36533

Surgical Management of a Spinal Dural Arteriovenous Fistula

Cureus. 2023 Mar 22;15(3):e36533. doi: 10.7759/cureus.36533. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Joseph Yunga Tigre¹, Meredith C Costello¹, Krisna Maddy¹, Emily L Errante^{1

2}, Connor C Berger¹, Stephen S Burks^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, USA.
² The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, USA.

Abstract

Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (SDAVFs) may have subtle clinical presentations and are often misdiagnosed. Clinical status gradually deteriorates following symptom onset making prompt identification and management essential. Here we present a case of a 67-year-old patient with rapidly progressing motor and sensory deficits to eventual right hemiplegia. Following imaging and surgical intervention, a thoracic SDAVF was identified and resected. This case report highlights a unique SDAVF with a stroke-like presentation. For patients with such presentation, without a clear source of intracranial pathology, spinal causes such as SDAVF could be considered.

Keywords: arteriovenous fistula; spinal arteriovenous fistula; spinal cord diseases; spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (sdavfs); spinal vascular malformation.

Publication types

Case Reports