Trigeminal neuralgia associated with a variant of persistent trigeminal artery

A persistent trigeminal artery variant (PTAV) is an anomalous vessel that originates from the internal carotid artery and directly supplies the cerebellum without interposition of the basilar artery. This anatomic variant is usually found incidentally on imaging but can rarely have clinical implicat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inRadiology case reports Vol. 15; no. 11; pp. 2225 - 2228
Main Authors Ling, Melissa M., Gupta, Megha, Acharya, Jay
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Inc 01.11.2020
Elsevier
Subjects
Case Report
Persistent trigeminal artery variant
Trigeminal neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia
Persistent trigeminal artery variant
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Summary:A persistent trigeminal artery variant (PTAV) is an anomalous vessel that originates from the internal carotid artery and directly supplies the cerebellum without interposition of the basilar artery. This anatomic variant is usually found incidentally on imaging but can rarely have clinical implications. We describe a case of a 74-year-old woman presenting with multiple years of lower jaw pain attributed to trigeminal neuralgia, unresolved with medication. A persistent trigeminal artery variant compressing the trigeminal nerve was identified on magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance angiography. The characteristic imaging findings of PTAV are essential for identifying an etiology of medically refractory trigeminal neuralgia and may assist with preoperative planning.
ISSN:1930-0433
1930-0433
DOI:10.1016/j.radcr.2020.08.057