Thrombosed Posterior Communicating Artery Aneurysm Mimicking an Extra-Axial Tumor |
Jae-Gwang Lee, Seong-Hyun Park |
Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Daegu, Korea |
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Abstract |
We report a rare case of a thrombosed posterior communicating artery aneurysm mimicking an extra-axial tumor. A 69-year-old
woman was admitted to a local clinic for regular checkup. A brain computed tomography on admission revealed a 1.5cm nodular
high intensity lesion in the left basal cistern. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a heterogeneous low signal intensity on T2-weighted image, a high signal intensity on T1-weighted image, and a subtle contrast enhancement after gadolinium injection. Location and radiological appearance of the lesion resembled that of an extra-axial tumor, except for finding of signal void on T2-weighted image and high signal portion on T1-weighted image. After cerebral angiography, the nodular lesion was diagnosed as a thrombosed aneurysm arising from the posterior communicating artery. The patient was successfully treated via surgical clipping. We should consider the possibility of a posterior communicating artery aneurysm when an enhancing nodular lesion is in the basal cistern, adjacent to the internal cerebral artery. |
Key Words:
Aneurysm, Basal cistern, Extra-axial tumor, Posterior communicating artery. |
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