Giant Right Coronary Artery Aneurysm: An Association With Primary Varicose Veins?

Coronary artery aneurysms are rare conditions with potentially devastating consequences. We describe the case of an athletic 40-year-old woman who received a diagnosis of giant right coronary artery aneurysm while she was undergoing a work-up for lower extremity varicose veins. She underwent successful surgical treatment without any complications. (Level of Difficulty: Intermediate.).

Cavernous Malformation of the Seventh Cranial Nerve: Case Report and Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND: Cavernous malformations (CMs) arising in the cranial nerves are rare. Only a few cases of facial nerve CMs have been reported in the literature. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 52-year old woman presented with headache, unilateral worsening facial weakness, and hearing loss. Imaging was suggestive of a CM of the cerebellopontine angle. Intraoperatively, a mulberry-shaped lesion was seen arising entirely within the seventh nerve. The patient underwent complete resection with sural nerve interposition graft. CONCLUSIONS: CMs are very rare but should be included in the differential diagnosis of cerebellopontine angle masses.

Dialysis arteriovenous fistula causing subclavian steal syndrome in the absence of subclavian artery stenosis.

We present a rare cause of subclavian steal syndrome secondary to a dialysis arteriovenous fistula (AVF). A 69-year-old female with end-stage renal disease presented with ataxia and recurrent fainting spells. Angiography revealed normal subclavian arteries bilaterally, a right VA origin occlusion, and an apparent left VA origin occlusion. However, carotid artery angiography demonstrated flow through the posterior communicating artery with retrograde filling of the basilar artery and left VA to its subclavian origin. Repeat left subclavian arteriography during external compression of the AVF demonstrated normal antegrade left VA flow. The AVF was subsequently ligated resulting in complete symptom resolution.