Venous outflow stenting for symptomatic developmental venous anomaly

Abstract

Developmental venous anomaly (DVA) is one of the commonest vascular malformations in the brain but rarely symptomatic. Various pathomechanisms such as mechanical compression, increased in-flow into DVA or outflow obstruction have been described as causative factors in symptomatic DVAs. We report a unique case of a pontomedullary DVA with venous outflow obstruction causing progressive neurological worsening in a young adult despite anticoagulation, who was treated with a novel approach of venous outlet stenting of the collector vein with favorable outcome. In carefully selected cases, this endovascular treatment can be an effective and safe alternative when other measures fail.