Demonstration of giant MCA aneurysm by transcranial duplex sonography and color Doppler imaging

Transcranial color Doppler sonography is a new diagnostic technique which allows real-time, color-coded imaging of basal cerebral arteries, with simultaneous demonstration of parenchymal structures in the B-mode scan. With this technique we were able noninvasively to show a giant fusiform aneurysm of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in an 11-year-old boy. Transcranial color Doppler sonography through the intact temporal bone demonstrated the size and location of the aneurysm and provided real-time imaging of the pulsating intra-aneurysmal flow. Additionally, duplex sonographic measurements of intravascular flow velocities within the aneurysm and the feeding and draining artery were possible. Postoperatively, patency of the MCA with reduced flow velocities after excision of the aneurysm could be shown. This is the first transcranial color Doppler report in a patient with an intracerebral aneurysm. In our opinion, transcranial color Doppler sonography offers new diagnostic possibilities in patients with cerebrovascular disorders.