Bilateral flow changes after extracranial-intracranial bypass surgery in a complex setting of multiple brain-feeding arteries occlusion: The role of perfusion studies

We report on a symptomatic case in which the whole intracranial blood supply was provided by a single vertebral artery as both internal carotid arteries were occluded and the contralateral vertebral artery was severely hypoplasic. The patient was treated by a flow-augmentation extracranial-intracranial bypass. Preoperative perfusion studies were essential in tailoring surgical strategy. Keypoints of the paper are contralateral perfusion changes after unilateral bypass surgery. The patient experienced a total recovery from symptoms and a bilateral improvement in brain perfusion, probably as consequence of post-operative hemodynamic rearrangement.