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Updated: Sep 8, 2025

Transaxillary First Rib Resection for Treatment of the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Published on: September 13, 2020
Stroke Caused by Arterial Thoracic Outlet Syndrome in an Adolescent
Lindsay Schleifer1, Sarah Vogel2, Anirudh Arun3
1Division of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Neurology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Abstract:
Arterial thoracic outlet syndrome is a rare condition characterized by compression of the subclavian artery, often with post-stenotic aneurysm formation. Artery-to-artery embolic strokes related to thoracic outlet syndrome have been reported in the posterior circulation and in the ipsilateral anterior circulation. We present a case in which a thrombus secondary to thoracic outlet syndrome caused a contralateral anterior circulation stroke in an adolescent and postulate mechanisms of this rare occurrence. This case demonstrates that a subclavian thrombus due to thoracic outlet syndrome can take a circuitous path and cause an anterior circulation stroke contralateral to the diseased subclavian artery. In addition, this case illustrates the importance of a high index of suspicion for thoracic outlet syndrome in patients with stroke and associated arm pain or discoloration.
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