Keywords:
Arteriovenous malformations, Diagnostic procedure, Catheter arteriography, Veins / Vena cava, Neuroradiology brain, Anatomy
Authors:
S. Ide, H. Kiyosue, S. Tanoue, Y. Hori, M. Okahara, H. Mori; Oita/JP
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2013/C-1926
Purpose
Dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) can occur anywhere in the dura mater covering the brain,
and have a 20-40% occurrence rate in the cavernous sinus (1).
There are many types of drainage route for cavernous sinus dural arteriovenous fistulas (CSDAVFs),
namely: anterior drainage through the superior ophthalmic vein (SOV) and/or the interior ophthalmic vein (IOV),
inferior drainage through the inferior petrosal sinus (IPS) and the pterygoid plexus (PPX),
posterior drainage through the superior petrosal sinus,
medial drainage through the intercavernous sinus,
lateral drainage through the superficial middle cerebral vein,
and deep drainage through the prepontine bridging vein,
and uncal venous drainage.
CSDAVFs with uncal venous drainage carry a risk of deep cerebral bleeding.
Furthermore,
serious complications such as brain edema or hemorrhage can occur when the DAVFs remain with a small cerebral venous drainage after transvenous embolization (Fig.
1) (2).
The UV is known as the anastomotic channel between the CS and the basal vein of Rosenthal (BVR) (Fig.
2) (3).
However,
variations in uncal vein (UV) termination have not been well recognized.
In this study,
we investigate the variations in UV termination and its clinical significance in CSDAVFs.