Decompression surgery for pure arterial malformations in a 15 year old with acute, progressive visual impairment: illustrative case

BACKGROUND: The authors document the first case of pure arterial malformations (PAMs) of the posterior communicating artery (PCoA), which were successfully treated with microsurgical clipping of the main body of the PAMs. PAMs are defined as dilated, overlapping, and tortuous arteries with a coil-like appearance and/or a mass of arterial loops without any associated venous component. Although PAMs usually have a benign history and are often incidental findings, this case presented with acute progression of visual field impairment. OBSERVATIONS: Because the patient’s right optic tract was affected by the loop of PAMs of the PCoA, the authors performed microsurgical clipping of the main body of the PAMs using endoscopy, which ceased the progression of symptoms without any complications. LESSONS: There have been several reports of PAMs receiving surgical treatment for accompanying lesions. However, in this case, the lesion to the main body of PAMs was the cause of visual field impairment and was successfully treated with microsurgical clipping.