Large spinal intraosseous arteriovenous fistula: case report

Spinal intraosseous arteriovenous fistulas with perimedullary drainage associated with vertebral compression fracture: illustrative case

BACKGROUND

Although osseous involvement is occasionally observed in spinal epidural arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) or seen as a part of diseases of spinal arteriovenous metameric syndrome, purely intraosseous spinal AVFs are extremely rare. Their clinical and imaging characteristic features are not well known. The authors present a case of purely intraosseous AVFs associated with compression fracture.

OBSERVATIONS

A 76-year-old man presented with back pain and progressive myelopathy. Computed tomography showed compression fracture of the T12 vertebral body and dilatation of perimedullary veins. Spinal angiography revealed an intraosseous AVF at the T12 spine level, which was fed by multiple feeders of ventral somatic branches and drained into the paravertebral and perimedullary veins. The intraosseous AVF was completely occluded by the combined techniques of transarterial and transvenous embolization with glue and a coil. The symptoms disappeared within 1 month after embolization.

LESSONS

Although extremely rare, spinal intraosseous AVFs can develop after compression fracture and cause congestive myelopathy. Combined transarterial and transvenous embolization is useful for the specific case of spinal intraosseous AVFs with both paravertebral and perimedullary drainage.

Spinal Osseous Epidural Arteriovenous Fistula with Intradural Reflux: A Case Report

The authors report a rare case of spinal osseous epidural arteriovenous fistula (AVF) with intradural reflux. A 71-year-old lady with a past history of a T12 compression fracture and neurofibromatosis type 1 presented with progressive paraparesis. Magnetic resonance (MR) images of the thoracolumbar spine showed edema of the spinal cord and flow voids. Catheter angiography revealed segmental arteries from T11 to L1 feeding an AVF in the epidural space. The AVF drained not only into the epidural venous plexus but also into the perimedullary veins. Of note, there was an intraosseous drainage route that involved the basivertebral vein of T12. Under the diagnosis of spinal osseous epidural AVF with intradural reflux, surgical interruption of the intradural arterialized draining vein was performed. Spinal osseous epidural AVF with intradural reflux is rare with only four cases reported in the past. We believe that spinal osseous epidural AVF should be recognized as a variant of spinal epidural AVF.

Thoracolumbar intraosseous spinal epidural arteriovenous fistulas after vertebral compression fracture: A case report and literature review

BACKGROUND

The pathophysiology of spinal epidural arteriovenous fistulas (SEAVFs) with perimedullary venous drainage remains to be elucidated. This report describes a case of intraosseous SEAVF in a patient with a history of a thoracolumbar vertebral fracture at the same level 10 years before presenting with progressive myelopathy secondary to retrograde venous reflux into the perimedullary vein.

CASE DESCRIPTION

A 71-year-old man presenting with progressive paraparesis was diagnosed with a SEAVF involving a previous Th12 and L1 vertebral compression fracture on which feeders from multiple segmental arteries converged. The interesting feature of this case was that the fistula was located in the fractured vertebral body. The fistula was totally obliterated by transarterial embolization of the segmental arteries followed by symptom improvement.

CONCLUSION

We presented a rare case of an intraosseous SEAVF secondary to a thoracolumbar compression fracture with perimedullary venous reflux causing progressive myelopathy. The fistula was located in the fractured vertebral body.