• Luca Zanin, Francesco Belotti, Michele Frigerio, Dikran Mardighian, Marco Ferrara, Riccardo Bergomi, PierPaolo Panciani, and Marco Maria Fontanella.
• Neurosurgery, Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy. Electronic address: lucazanin00@gmail.com.
• World Neurosurg. 2020 Oct 1; 142: 413-419.

BackgroundVertebral artery (VA) rupture is a rare condition that occurs about in 0.5% of cervical trauma. The management of our case was complicated by a spinal epidural hematoma (SEH) leading to worsening neurologic deficits. Only 1 similar case has been reported before in the literature.Case DescriptionWe report the case of a 37-year-old victim of a serious car accident. Shortly after admission to the emergency department, she developed weakness in all 4 limbs and sensory deficit below T6 level. Cervical spine computed tomography scan revealed an SEH from C1 to T3. Computed tomography angiography scan showed rupture of the left VA at C3 level, with a posttraumatic vertebral arteriovenous fistula at the same level, draining in the epidural venous plexus and to the right jugular internal vein. Immediately after embolization of the left VA, we performed a cervical decompression from C2 to C7. Three months after surgery the patient had a full recovery.ConclusionsNo guidelines exist to treat this situation. We propose consequential steps to treat a posttraumatic cervical SEH with evidence of VA rupture.Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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