Traumatic Dural Sinus Research Articles

Surgical Reconstruction of a Traumatic Superior Sagittal Sinus Injury Using Synthetic Vascular Graft in a Resource-Limited Civilian Field Hospital During the Syrian Civil War

Traumatic dural sinus injuries following penetrating brain injury are rare but are often associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The management of significant defects is operative and can be challenging. In modern civilian practice, patients with these injuries typically receive extensive preoperative investigation and advanced perioperative monitoring. We report a case of successful operative management in a frontline civilian field hospital of a 33-year-old man who sustained a shrapnel injury to the junction of the middle and posterior thirds of the superior sagittal sinus during the Syrian Civil War. The injury was repaired successfully with a polytetrafluoroethylene graft. The postoperative course was uncomplicated. Anticoagulation was commenced 2 days postoperatively. The patient was discharged 5 days postoperatively with a GCS of 15 and mild weakness of the limbs bilaterally. Immediate repair of dural sinus injuries is feasible in the context of a low-resource wartime environment and should be attempted without delay. To our knowledge, this is the first case of successful use of a synthetic vascular graft for repair of a dural venous sinus injury in an ill-equipped hospital.

Traumatic Dural Venous Sinuses Injury.

The traumatic dural venous sinus injury is one of the most dangerous complications of TBI, either due to fatal intracranial compressing venous bleeding, or disturbing the intracranial pressure which could be caused by injury to the SSSOn the other hand, post traumatic dural sinus thrombosis is considered a rare complication which may lead to hemorrhagic infarction with its serious consequences including epilepsy, neurological deficits, or death. Therefore, knowledge of the appropriate treatment of this kind of head injury is essential.

Thrombosis of posterior condylar vein with extension to internal jugular vein; a rare radiological finding in traumatic brain injury.

Dear Editor, The posterior condylar canal is located posterior to the occipital condyle and transmits the posterior condylar vein, one of the largest emissary veins in the retromastoid region.[1,6] This vein usually origins from superior bulb of the internal jugular vein or less frequently from the medial side of the distal portion of the sigmoid sinus and connect to the suboccipital venous plexus.[5,9] We report a patient with occipital bone fracture coursing through the posterior condylar canal causing thrombosis of posterior condylar vein with extension to internal jugular vein. To the best of our knowledge, thrombosis of posterior condylar vein with subsequent extension to major venous sinuses due to trauma has not been reported yet. A 50-year-old patient was brought to the emergency department following a fall from 15 steps. Initial head computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated bilateral inferior frontal hemorrhagic contusions, traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage in bilateral frontal and right temporal lobe, and linear occipital bone fracture extending to the posterior condylar vein on the right side. There was no extension of fracture line to the major dural venous sinuses. Subsequent CT venography (CTV) demonstrated thrombosis of right posterior condylar vein with extension to upper aspect of right internal jugular vein causing nonocclusive thrombosis [Figure 1]. Given the presence of hemorrhagic brain contusions and nonocclusive nature of thrombosis in the internal jugular vein, patient was not considered an appropriate candidate for anticoagulation and was managed conservatively. Follow-up CTV in 48 h demonstrated stable thrombosis with no extension. Figure 1 Axial CT scan demonstrates linear occipital bone fracture with extension to the right posterior condylar canal (a white arrow). Axial and sagittal oblique CT Venogram (b and c) demonstrate right condylar vein thrombosis (white arrow) with extension to ... Emissary veins connect the extracranial venous system with the intracranial venous sinuses. Although they are usually small in healthy people, they may enlarge in patients with increased intracranial pressure, in patients with high-flow vascular malformations or severe hypoplasia/aplasia or obstruction of the jugular veins. They may also serve as a conduit for retrograde spread of infection or tumors. Familiarity with major posterior fossa emissary veins is important to avoid misdiagnosis as abnormal findings and also to prevent surgical complications, which can result in intracranial hemorrhage, air embolism, and fatal increases in intracranial pressure.[7] The role of traumatic close head injuries as an important etiology of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis has been demonstrated in multiple studies.[2] Extension of skull fractures to venous sinuses had been reported in 10.4% and 13% of patients in two recent large studies.[3,8] Delgado Almandoz et al. demonstrated traumatic dural sinus thrombosis in 40.7% of patients with blunt head trauma with skull fractures extending to dural venous sinuses or jugular bulb, and more than half of those were occlusive.[3] In a more recent study, Rivkin et al. found thrombosis of at least one venous sinus or jugular bulb in 34.9% of patients (20.6% nonocclusive, 14.3% occlusive).[8] Fujii et al. also evaluated 97 patients with skull fractures crossing venous sinuses and found 22.4% of them to have thrombosis.[4] The indication for performing CTV in all of these studies was extension of skull fracture line to the major dural sinuses including superior sagittal sinus, transverse sinus, sigmoid sinus, or jugular bulb, and, to the best of our knowledge, traumatic thrombosis of posterior condylar vein with subsequent extension to major venous sinuses has not been reported yet. Development of venous sinus thrombosis in the setting of blunt trauma can result in poor clinical outcome resulting from multiple neurological complications including increased intracranial pressure, hemorrhagic venous infarctions, and increase in seizure frequency, with mortality rates as high as 50% for occlusive venous thrombosis.[3,4,8] Treatment of dural venous sinus thrombosis in the setting of trauma might be very challenging and only a small minority of patients with occlusive venous sinus thrombosis has been reported in prior studies.[3] In conclusion, in the setting of blunt head trauma, extension of the fracture lines to the posterior condylar canal can cause condylar vein thrombosis with secondary extension to major dural venous sinuses. Increase in awareness of this anatomical structure and routine CTV when there is extension of skull fracture line to the major dural sinuses is important for appropriate diagnosis.

Acute Epidural Hematoma Compressing the Dominant Sigmoid Sinus as an Unusual Cause of Intracranial Hypertension: Case Report and Review of Literature

Post traumatic dural sinus vein stenosis has been rarely described in pediatric population. We present a case of a 9-year-old child that had sustained a head injury after a fall from height causing an acute epidural hematoma compressing the dominant sigmoid sinus. The patient had developed sub acutely signs and symptoms of increased intracranial pressure. Prophylactic treatment with anticoagulants was initiated despite the presence of an intracranial bleeding. Clinical and radiological improvements were achieved. We had also reviewed the literature regarding this uncommon entity and discussed other existing diagnostic and therapeutic alternatives. Further gathering of information is essential in order to form a therapeutic protocol.

Traumatic dural sinus thrombosis causing persistent headache in a child

Dural venous sinus thrombosis following a mild head injury is increasingly recognized. We report case of a 9-year-old male child presented with progressive headache and vomiting following a minor fall. A diagnosis of sinus venous thrombosis was suspected on nonenhancing computed tomography, and that was confirmed with magnetic resonance venography. The child was managed with intravenous fluids, anticoagulation (injection heparin followed by oral anticoagulants–tab coumarin), antiedema measures (mannitol), and antiepileptics (phenytoin) with good outcome.

The traumatic dural sinus injury--a clinical study.

In a period of 13 years 978 cases of severe head injuries were operated on in our clinic. An analysis of the medical reports includes injuries of the superficial dural sinus (39 cases = 4%): among these injuries of the anterior and central part of the superior sagittal sinus (66 per cent), injuries of the transverse sinus (18 per cent), injuries of the posterior part of the superior sagittal sinus (8 per cent), and combined injuries of different dural sinuses (8 per cent). Clinical data, i.e. the causes of accident, radiological examination results, intracranial lesions, operation techniques and outcome are analysed and discussed. The analysis of cases with dural sinus injuries shows a high mortality rate (total mortality rate: 16 patients = 41%; intra-operative mortality rate: 8 patients = 20%).