[Atypical Wallenberg's syndrome due to spontaneous vertebral arterial dissection: case report]

We report here a case of atypical Wallenberg's syndrome due to spontaneous vertebral artery (VA) dissection. A 52-year-old woman was admitted to our department because of a sudden onset of left orbital pain. Emergency CT scan disclosed no evidence of intracranial hemorrhage. Neurological examination at the time of the current admission, showed dysphagia, left soft palate palsy, hoarseness, left Horner syndrome, hypalgesia with thermohypesthesia on the right side of her face, however, hypalgesia with thermohypesthesia on the right side of her body. The diagnosis of atypical Wallenberg's syndrome was based on the above findings. MR images disclosed the infarcted lesion at the left lateral medulla depicted as high-intensity on T2-weighted & FLAIR images. We carried out conservative treatment with antiplatelet & hemodilution therapies and the blood pressure control. Left vertebral angiograms obtained 18 days after the onset, showed the segmental severe stenosis of the VA between the ramification of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) and the union of the VAs. In the venous phase, retention of contrast medium in the VA and the PICA was observed. The flow rate of the parent artery was decreased. We strongly suspected that her initial symptom of left orbital pain was due to dissection of the VA itself. Three-dimensional CT angiograms obtained 30 days after the onset, demonstrated the defect of the left VA between the ramification of the left PICA and the union of the VAs. Left vertebral angiograms obtained 36 days after the onset, showed the occlusion of the VA between the ramification of the PICA and the union of the VAs. The neurological findings gradually improved and the patient was discharged. Follow up left vertebral angiograms obtained 4 months & 16 months after the onset, revealed almost no changes of left VA occlusion.