Angiographic differentiation between Dandy-Walker cyst and arachnoid cyst of the posterior fossa in newborn infants and children

Abstract

✓ Elevation of the tentorium and its dural sinuses, originally considered a diagnostic sign of Dandy-Walker cyst, may also occur in arachnoid cysts of the posterior fossa. Differentiation between these two lesions may be achieved angiographically by the evaluation of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery and its vermian branch, and of the inferior vermian vein. All these vessels are displaced forward and upward by an arachnoid cyst, while in the Dandy-Walker cyst the posterior inferior cerebellar artery is miniature and the vermian branch and the inferior vermian vein are absent.