Diagnosis and Endovascular Embolization of a Sacral Spinal Arteriovenous Fistula with "Holo-Spinal" Venous Drainage.

Abstract

Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas are the most common spinal vascular pathology, accounting for up to 70% of spinal vascular malformations. They most commonly present with insidious and progressive myelopathy and bowel, bladder, and sexual dysfunction. Although noninvasive imaging (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance angiography) may suggest the presence of a spinal arteriovenous fistula (AVF), the diagnosis requires confirmation with spinal angiography. A 65-year-old woman presented with progressive myelopathy. Traditional spinal angiography of the paired radicular arteries failed to demonstrate any vascular malformation. However, injection of the right internal iliac artery demonstrated an AVF arising from the artery of Desproges-Gotteron with retrograde venous drainage to the upper thoracic region. Selective transarterial catheterization and embolization with n-butyl cyanoacrylate resulted in complete occlusion of the AVF. Clinical improvement was also noted on postprocedural day 1. This case highlights the importance of internal iliac injections as a critical component of spinal angiography during an evaluation for vascular malformation.