Minimally invasive neurosurgical access techniques to facilitate endovascular treatment of dural arteriovenous fistulae.

We report two cases of dural arteriovenous fistulae treated endovascularly, where percutaneous venous or arterial access was not suitable. In both cases, a different surgical access technique was used to allow transcranial cannulation of the appropriate venous sinus or of the varix to gain access and occlude the fistula.

Intraventricular haemorrhage without subarachnoid haemorrhage due to a ruptured aneurysm.

The incidence of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) in the UK is about 10 per 100 000 of the population per year and it is a potentially fatal condition. Prompt recognition and referral to a neurosurgical unit is crucial for a better outcome. A typical history of sudden severe headache, CT scan and sometimes a lumbar puncture would help clinch the diagnosis. Though intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) and intraventricular haemorrhage (IVH) are not uncommon after an aneurysmal rupture, ICH and/or IVH without SAH are rare (<2%). In such cases, a high index of suspicion is needed to deliver the correct management. This report describes a case of posterior communicating artery aneurysm presenting with pure IVH on CT. The aneurysm was diagnosed by performing a CT angiogram and the patient underwent a successful coil embolisation.