Basilar artery dissection: A rare complication of posterior fossa epidermoid cyst resection, and evaluation of the possible effects of cerebrospinal fluid drainage on disease progression

Abstract

We report a rare case of a 45-year-old female with an unruptured basilar artery dissecting aneurysm presenting with locked-in syndrome due to brainstem ischemia eleven months following resection of a giant cerebellopontine angle epidermoid cyst and three months after insertion of ventriculo peritoneal shunt due to hydrocephalus. The etiology of basilar artery dissection and the effect of hydrocephalus and ventricular cerebrospinal fluid drainage on disease progression in this patient are unclear. Our report suggests a possible effect of hydrocephalus and ventricular cerebrospinal fluid drainage on intracranial arterial dissection progression.

Keywords: Basilar artery; Dissecting aneurysm; Hydrocephalus; Pathophysiology.