Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Publication

Bow Hunter's Syndrome in a Patient with a Right Hypoplastic Vertebral Artery and a Dynamically Compressible Left Vertebral Artery

Cai, David Z.
Roach, Ryan P.
Weaver, John P.
McGillicuddy, Gerald T.
Mansell, Zachary M.
Eskander, Jonathan P.
Eskander, Mark S.
Embargo Expiration Date
Link to Full Text
Abstract

This is a case report of a 48-year-old man with multiple transient ischemic attacks and a known hypoplastic right vertebral artery (VA) who presented after a syncopal event while turning his head to the left. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the necessity of proper diagnosis and management of cerebrovascular pathology including imaging and surgical intervention in patients with known anatomical anomalies. This study was conducted at Massachusetts, United States of America. Our patient's history was significant for a hypoplastic right VA and a stenotic segment of the right VA at the C3-C4 junction. There was also degeneration of the C3-C4 facet on the left, with osteophyte formation compressing the VA, and a fusion of the C2-C3 segment. Imaging demonstrated obliteration of the left VA flow with head rotation to the left and subsequent reconstitution of flow in the neutral position. After consultation, the patient decided to proceed with surgical management with an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion at the level of C3-C4. Symptoms of vertebrobasilar insufficiency including syncopal episodes resolved after treatment. VA anomalies, although uncommon, are important to understand. Our patient presented with an anomalous right VA, as well as severe degenerative changes to the C2/C3 vertebrae that contributed to the development of Bow Hunter's syndrome. It is essential that proper monitoring and follow-up has to be carried out in patients with abnormal cerebral vasculature to minimize the occurrence of Bow Hunter's syndrome.

Source

Asian J Neurosurg. 2018 Jan-Mar;13(1):133-135. doi: 10.4103/1793-5482.181129. Link to article on publisher's site

Year of Medical School at Time of Visit
Sponsors
Dates of Travel
DOI
10.4103/1793-5482.181129
PubMed ID
29492144
Other Identifiers
Notes
Funding and Acknowledgements
Corresponding Author
Related Resources
Related Resources
Repository Citation
Rights
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‑NonCommercial‑ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non‑commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.