Intracranial vertebral artery dissection presenting as subarachnoid hemorrhage: successful endovascular treatment

Introduction - Intracranial vertebral artery dissection is a rare condition which may present as subarachnoid hemorrhage. In this situation, treatment is controversial. Case report - A case of intracranial right vertebral art ery dissection in a 55-year-old woman presenting with subarachnoid hemorrha ge is reported. The patient underwent therapeutic occlusion of the dissecte d artery through microcatheterization using pushing detachable platinum mic rocoils and had a good outcome. At this moment, the patient has a normal ne urologic examination and a control digital subtraction angiography 1 year a fter the procedure showed an occluded right vertebral artery at V3; there w as retrograde flow in the right intracranial vertebral artery up to the ori gin of a meningeal branch; the artery was thin and had mural irregularities , without any evidence of aneurismatic dilatation. Discussion - We review t he literature and discuss the role of endovascular therapy and other therap eutic options in the treatment of this condition.