Spontaneous basilar artery dissection

Z Han, TW Leung, W Lam, Y Soo, KS Wong
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong

Dissection of the basilar artery is rare. We report a 51-year-old man who developed acute pontine infarction associated with dissection of the distal basilar artery. There was no trauma or unaccustomed movement of the head and neck prior to the stroke. The dissection was diagnosed non-invasively by magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography. Cervicocerebral artery dissection is a common cause of stroke in young patients particularly when conventional cardiovascular risk factors are absent. Magnetic resonance angiography combined with magnetic resonance imaging is a useful diagnostic tool prior to invasive angiography.

Hong Kong Med J 2007;13:144-6

Key words: Basilar artery; Brain stem infarctions; Dissection; Magnetic resonance angiography; Magnetic resonance imaging