Late cerebral sinovenous thrombosis following closed head injury without skull fracture

Two patients are presented showing the rare feature of sinovenous thrombosi s occurring at long latency after closed head injury without skull fracture . Typical,,bridging symptoms" were headache and eventually focal cortical s igns. If there is no sufficient venous recanalization, progressively rising intracranial pressure may lead to optic atrophy clinically resulting in pr ogressive blindness. The most likely pathogenetic mechanism is thrombus app osition at endothelia that had primarily been damaged by traumatic shear fo rces. The mechanism of thrombosis occurrence after latency is - also after review of 22 similar cases from the literature - less well explained. Subac ute or chronic sinovenous thrombosis should be included as - admittedly rar e - differential diagnosis of late complications after brain injury.