Occipital artery to vertebral artery bypass for treatment of bilateral vertebral artery occlusion with QMRA as an adjunct to diagnostic assessment.

PURPOSE: Stroke, the second leading cause of death globally, often involves ischemia in the vertebrobasilar territory. This condition is underexplored, despite significant morbidity and mortality risks. The purpose of this study is to present a case of occipital artery to V3 segment vertebral artery bypass, emphasizing the role of quantitative magnetic resonance angiography (qMRA) in assessing flow and guiding surgical intervention. METHODS: A 66-year-old man with bilateral vertebral artery occlusion presented acute symptoms. qMRA was employed to evaluate flow dynamics and determine the feasibility of a flow augmentation bypass surgery. The occipital artery to left vertebral artery bypass (OA-to-VA) was performed, utilizing an inverted hockey-stick incision and an antegrade inside-out technique. The patency of the bypass was confirmed using both Doppler probe and Indocyanine green. RESULTS: Postoperative assessments, including computed tomography angiography (CTA) and qMRA, demonstrated the patency of the bypass with improved flow in the basilar artery and left vertebral artery. The patient's condition remained stable postoperatively, with residual peripheral palsy of the left facial nerve. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the presented case illustrates the efficacy of the OA-to-VA bypass in addressing symptomatic bilateral vertebral artery occlusion. The study underscores the pivotal role of qMRA in pre- and postoperative assessments, providing noninvasive flow quantification for diagnostic considerations and long-term follow-up in patients with vertebrobasilar insufficiency.

Scoping review of the palmaris profundus muscle: anatomy of a rare variant and its role in carpal tunnel syndrome.

The palmaris profundus muscle is a rare anatomical variation of the forearm muscles. It has been described in both cadaveric and clinical studies as a possible cause of carpal tunnel syndrome. We observed three cases of this variant in recent years and decided to perform a scoping review of this uncommon anatomical entity. Major databases were searched to identify all relevant clinical and anatomical studies containing anatomical descriptions of the muscle, including its origin, insertion, and concomitant presence of the proper palmaris longus muscle or the bifid median nerve. In clinical cases, we studied the surgical approach. Sixty-four articles met our inclusion criteria and contained 88 cases of palmaris profundus muscle. The most common origin was the ventral aspect of the radius in the area of insertion of the pronator teres muscle observed in 11 cases (12.5 %). We found 65 cases (73.3%) in which the tendon was inserted into the palmar aponeurosis or palmar fascia after entering the carpal canal. The concomitant presence of the proper palmaris longus muscle was described in 47 cases (53.4%). We identified 10 cases (10.8%) of the bifid median nerve. In 49 of 69 clinical cases (71%), the surgical approach was to resect the variant muscle. The importance of this variant should not be underestimated due to its potential to compress the median nerve. We found a significant disparity in the muscle origin sites, but uniformity of muscle insertion. In cases where the muscle is found during carpal canal surgery, it should be partially resected to ensure complete nerve decompression.

Diagnostic reliability of the Berlin classification for complex MCA aneurysms-usability in a series of only giant aneurysms.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The main challenge of bypass surgery of complex MCA aneurysms is not the selection of the bypass type but the initial decision-making of how to exclude the affected vessel segment from circulation. To this end, we have previously proposed a classification for complex MCA aneurysms based on the preoperative angiography. The current study aimed to validate this new classification and assess its diagnostic reliability using the giant aneurysm registry as an independent data set. METHODS: We reviewed the pretreatment neuroimaging of 51 patients with giant (> 2.5 cm) MCA aneurysms from 18 centers, prospectively entered into the international giant aneurysm registry. We classified the aneurysms according to our previously proposed Berlin classification for complex MCA aneurysms. To test for interrater diagnostic reliability, the data set was reviewed by four independent observers. RESULTS: We were able to classify all 51 aneurysms according to the Berlin classification for complex MCA aneurysms. Eight percent of the aneurysm were classified as type 1a, 14% as type 1b, 14% as type 2a, 24% as type 2b, 33% as type 2c, and 8% as type 3. The interrater reliability was moderate with Fleiss's Kappa of 0.419. CONCLUSION: The recently published Berlin classification for complex MCA aneurysms showed diagnostic reliability, independent of the observer when applied to the MCA aneurysms of the international giant aneurysm registry.