Spontaneous Intracranial Internal Carotid Artery Dissection

Abstract

ARTERIAL DISSECTION is now recognized as an important cause of stroke. Most reported dissections involve the extracranial carotid and vertebral arteries. Intracranial arterial dissections are less common, most reported intracranial dissections involve the vertebral and basilar arteries. Vertebrobasilar dissections are known to cause brain infarction, often fatal or disabling, and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Dissecting posterior circulation aneurysms can also cause mass effect on the brainstem and cranial nerves.^1-5 Intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) dissections are considered rare and have been reported infrequently.^6-10 The risk factors, clinical findings, imaging abnormalities, and prognosis in patients with intracranial ICA dissections previously have not been described in detail. We report our experience with 10 patients who had nontraumatic intracranial ICA dissections.