Parent artery occlusion for cerebral infarction after spontaneous recanalization in traumatic vertebral artery: A case report

BACKGROUND: There is no established treatment strategy for traumatic vertebral artery occlusion that does not require cervical spine repair surgery. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 49-year-old man was brought to our hospital with traffic trauma. Fractures were observed in the left lateral mass and transverse process of Atlas and the left vertebral artery was occluded at the level of the foramen transversum of Atlas. No acute cerebral infarction was observed. Because the cervical spinal cord was not compressed by the fracture, no repair surgery was performed. Continuous intravenous heparin and oral aspirin were started for traumatic vertebral artery occlusion. Thereafter, the left vertebral artery spontaneously recanalized, but no cerebral infarction was observed. The patient was discharged home on day 16 of injury. Four days later, however, he was brought to our hospital with nausea and lightheadedness. Acute cerebral infarction was observed in the left posterior inferior cerebellar artery territory and a thrombus in the left vertebral artery V4 segment. Parent artery occlusion was performed to prevent further cerebral infarction due to distal embolization of the thrombus. No further cerebral infarction occurred after the operation and the patient was discharged home with a modified Rankin scale score of 1. CONCLUSION: In cases of traumatic vertebral artery occlusion without an occlusive mechanism, parent artery occlusion may be considered in terms of recanalization risk, regardless of the need for repair surgery.