A difficult-to-treat Acom aneurysm with the combined vascular anomaly of Acom fenestration and accessory anterior cerebral artery.

BACKGROUND: Vascular anomaly and aneurysmal formation of an anterior communicating artery (Acom) complex has often been reported. Because of such a complicated relationship between the vascular structure and aneurysms, Acom aneurysm is one of the most difficult aneurysms to treat among other common anterior circulation aneurysms. We experienced an extremely rare and difficult-to-treat case of ruptured Acom aneurysm with the combined vascular anomaly of the Acom fenestration and an accessory anterior cerebral artery (ACA).

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 29-year-old man underwent a clipping surgery for a ruptured Acom aneurysm with an Acom fenestration and an accessory ACA. By reasons of the complicated Acom structure and a posteriorly-projecting aneurysm, the patient was operated via an interhemispheric approach, which is generally reported to provide the best operative view for all types of Acom aneurysms. However, we could not help applying a clip in the narrow working space and the limited operative view, due to the poor mobilization of Acom complex and the interruption by an accessory ACA.

CONCLUSION: The interhemispheric approach may exceptionally have a blind area behind the Acom complex in the case of Acom aneurysms with an accessory ACA. Additionally, the aneurysms arising from the Acom fenestration strongly require neurosurgeons to take a more accurate surgical approach to obtain a direct visualization for an aneurysmal neck.