Open AccessSixth cranial nerve palsy secondary to compression by dolichoectatic vertebrobasilar artery
Author(s) -
Trishal Jeeva-Patel,
Edward Margolin,
Daniel M. Mandell
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
bmj case reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.231
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 1757-790X
DOI - 10.1136/bcr-2020-234949
Subject(s) - medicine , cranial nerves , abducens nerve , vertebral artery , palsy , neurovascular bundle , sixth nerve palsy , radiology , oculomotor nerve palsy , anatomy , magnetic resonance imaging , surgery , pathology , diplopia , alternative medicine
Dolichoectasia refers to distinct elongation, dilatation and tortuosity of an artery. We present a rare well-illustrated case of dolichoectatic vertebrobasilar artery compressing the cisternal portion of the sixth cranial nerve resulting in chronic sixth nerve palsy. High spatial resolution, three-dimensional, heavily T2-weighted MRI sequences are uniquely positioned to assess the cranial nerves especially in their cisternal and canalicular portions and need to be performed for all patients with non-resolving cranial nerve palsies. Dolichoectatic vessels can be the cause of neurovascular conflict and cause non-resolving oculomotor palsies.