Persistent Trigeminal Artery Causing an Abducens Nerve Palsy: A Case Report.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Lloyd, Aimee; Jain, Sunila; Duke, Diana; Chatterjee, Somenath; Ibrahim, Bahauddin
- Source
- Neuro-Ophthalmology. Feb2023, Vol. 47 Issue 1, p29-34. 6p.
- Subject
- *PARALYSIS
*MAGNETIC resonance imaging
*CRANIAL nerves
*NERVES
*ARTERIES
*ARTERIOVENOUS anastomosis
*DIPLOPIA
- Language
- ISSN
- 0165-8107
We present a case of a 50-year-old female who was diagnosed with an isolated right abducens nerve palsy and was found to have a persistent trigeminal artery (PTA). The trigeminal artery is the most common persistent embryological carotid-vertebrobasilar anastomosis. A PTA can be picked up as an incidental finding on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or angiography. It has been reported that a PTA can be found in 0.1 to 0.6% of all cerebral angiograms. PTA has been linked to several rare abnormalities such as vascular aneurysms and cranial nerve compression. Our patient presented with diplopia and was found to have a paresis of the right lateral rectus muscle consistent with a right abducens nerve palsy. MRI found a right-sided PTA indenting the ventral surface of the pons. This case investigates and highlights that neurovascular compression from a PTA can cause an isolated abducens nerve palsy. Further research is required to investigate if surgical intervention for non-aneurysmal PTA would be beneficial for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]