A Modified Surgical Technique for Transposition of the Vertebral Artery to the Common Carotid Artery

Abstract

A proximal occluded vertebral artery (VA) with reconstitution by muscular collateral vessels is a relatively common finding. However, due to inadequate intracranial anastomosis and hypoplasia or stenosis of the opposite VA, a number of patients develop symptoms of brain ischemia. In the current case, a 63-year-old man presented with repeat neurological symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting, dysarthria, left hemiparesis, and right hemianopsia. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed multiple posterior infarctions. Angiography revealed the VA to be occluded and reconstituted by collateral vessels. Considering the above results, we performed vertebral carotid artery transposition. However, several technical difficulties were encountered due to space limitations in the operative field and the limited length of the vessels to be anastomosed. To overcome such situations, we introduced a modified posterior wall end-to-side anastomosis technique.