VASCULAR DECOMPRESSION OF A VERTEBRAL ARTERY LOOP PRODUCING CERVICAL RADICULOPATHY - CASE-REPORT

Vertebral artery tortuosity and loop formation are rare causes of cerv ical radiculopathy. The authors present the case of a 70-year-old man with 9 years of progressive right-sided cervical and scapular pain but no history of trauma. Computerized tomography myelography and magneti c resonance imaging revealed an ovoid mass in the right C3-4 intervert ebral foramen. The patient underwent a right C-3 and C-4 hemilaminecto my and a complete C3-4 facetectomy. A pulsatile vascular structure was found compressing the right C-4 nerve root. The bone overlying the va scular structure was removed, producing decompression of the nerve roo t. Immediate postoperative angiography showed that this lesion was a f ocal vertebral artery loop. The patient's symptoms resolved after surg ery, supporting the use of vascular decompression of a cervical nerve root compressed by a vertebral artery loop for the relief of radicular symptoms.