A giant internal carotid-posterior communicating artery aneurysm presenting with atypical trigeminal neuralgia and facial nerve palsy in a patient with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease: a case report

Abstract

BACKGROUND In cases of internal carotid-posterior communicating artery (IC-PC) aneurysm, involvement of the trigeminal nerve at its root is rare, and facial nerve palsy is even more unusual. CASE REPORT A large, unruptured IC-PC aneurysm was detected in a 56-year-old man with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), but surgery was not performed because of mild renal dysfunction. Two months later, a sudden, severe headache suggested a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which was ruled out by computed tomography and lumbar puncture. Neurological examination revealed complete oculomotor palsy, atypical trigeminal neuralgia, and facial palsy with gustatory disturbance. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging revealed a partially thrombosed giant aneurysm that directly compressed the trigeminal nerve root, reached the internal auditory canal, and was adjacent to the facial nerve. The neck of the aneurysm was successfully clipped via a subtemporal transtentorial approach. The postoperative course was uneventful, and all neurological symptoms had resolved within 3 months. CONCLUSIONS We believe that the prosopalgia in this case was atypical trigeminal neuralgia due to direct compression of the trigeminal nerve root by the aneurysmal sac. A contributory cause was stretching of the oculomotor nerve, which contains sensory afferent inhibitory fibers derived from the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve. The facial palsy was of peripheral type and was accompanied by gustatory disturbance. This is the first reported case of facial palsy caused by an IC-PC aneurysm and also a very rare case of an IC-PC aneurysm clipped by a subtemporal transtentorial approach.