Galen vein aneurysm– challenge for treatment

Abstract

The term vein of Galen aneurysm is related to a group of different vascular anomalies, with one common distinction being the dilatation of the vein of Galen. It represents a rear vascular anomaly, whose incidence is yet unknown, although some authors suggest numbers around 1:25000 deliveries. It accounts for only 1% of all intracranial malformations, but the percentage of this anomaly in pediatric populations is up to 30%. In most cases the diagnosis is made postnatal, while antenatal diagnosis, because of the pathophysiology of aneurysm itself, as well as pathophysiology of its possible complications, is made usually during the third trimester, frequently after the 34th week of gestation. The earliest reported diagnosis was made at 25 weeks’ gestation. In this case we present 25-year old gravida, pregnancy at 28th week of gestation with aneurysm, and sonographically detected aneurysm of the vein of Galen, that ended with termination of pregnancy.