We report a case of a 24-year-old patient who presented after a head trauma with a traumatic occlusion of his left internal carotid artery. He underwent diagnostic cerebral angiogram and was found to have a direct left carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF) with retrograde filling from the posterior circulation across the posterior communicating artery. Because of the severe injury to the left internal carotid artery (ICA), reconstructive repair of the ICA was not possible. The patient underwent deconstructive repair of the CCF by coil embolization using a posterior retrograde approach. Coils were successfully placed in the cavernous sinus and back into the left ICA with complete cure of the CCF and restoration of cerebral perfusion distal to the treated CCF. We review the types of CCFs, their clinical presentation, and their endovascular treatments. Retrograde access of a direct CCF is rarely reported in the literature, and we believe this approach offers a viable alternative in appropriately selected patients.
Keyphrases
- internal carotid artery
- middle cerebral artery
- end stage renal disease
- newly diagnosed
- case report
- chronic kidney disease
- ejection fraction
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- systematic review
- spinal cord injury
- peritoneal dialysis
- early onset
- computed tomography
- patient reported outcomes
- patient reported
- optical coherence tomography