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Twin-like appearance of an unruptured intracerebral anterior communicating artery (ACom) aneurysm in a male sibling of a patient with a ruptured ACom aneurysm

  • Case Report - Vascular
  • Published:
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Abstract

Background

Increased risk of intracranial aneurysm rupture with subsequent subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is related to several possible factors, including first-grade familial aneurysms.

Methods and results

Here we present a case of one ruptured and one unruptured identical twin-like anterior communicating artery (ACom) aneurysm present in two male siblings, without any proven genetic predisposition. According to evidence-based scores, aneurysm rupture risk for the younger (51 years old) sibling (with an unruptured ACom aneurysm) would be low, leaving the decision for either treatment or clinical follow-up to the discretion of the treating physician.

Conclusions

From a clinical neurosurgical perspective, however, especially since his older brother suffered an aneurysmal SAH at age 57 (i.e. 6 life-years later) from a twin-like-appearing ACom aneurysm, in our opinion rupture seems almost inevitable, thus prompting treatment at an early stage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Zurich, Frauenklinikstrasse 10, 8091, Zürich, Switzerland

    Jorn Fierstra, Jan Karl Burkhardt, Luca Regli & Oliver Bozinov

  2. Department of Neuroradiology, Clinical Neuroscience Center, University of Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Stamatios Stamou

Authors
  1. Jorn Fierstra
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  2. Jan Karl Burkhardt
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  3. Stamatios Stamou
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  4. Luca Regli
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  5. Oliver Bozinov
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jorn Fierstra.

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Both patients have consented to the submission of the case report for submission to the journal.

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Fierstra, J., Burkhardt, J.K., Stamou, S. et al. Twin-like appearance of an unruptured intracerebral anterior communicating artery (ACom) aneurysm in a male sibling of a patient with a ruptured ACom aneurysm. Acta Neurochir 158, 1051–1055 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-016-2782-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-016-2782-8

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