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CC BY 4.0 · Thorac Cardiovasc Surg Rep 2025; 14(01): e4-e7
DOI: 10.1055/a-2572-7093
Case Report: Vascular

A Case Report of Fenestration Deformity of Extracranial Vertebral Artery and Literature Review

Mingjuan Cao
1   Department of Ultrasound Medical Imaging, Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu, China
,
Qun Qiang
1   Department of Ultrasound Medical Imaging, Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu, China
,
Jia Liu
1   Department of Ultrasound Medical Imaging, Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu, China
,
Miaomiao Zhang
1   Department of Ultrasound Medical Imaging, Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Gansu, China
› Author Affiliations
Funding This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province (22JR5RA627).
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Abstract

Background

Vertebral artery fenestration (VAF) is a rare anatomical variation of the vertebral artery that may affect the safety of clinical surgeries and interventional treatments. Although ultrasound is widely used to assess neck vessels, its application in diagnosing VAF has not been extensively investigated.

Case Description

This article reports a case of an 82-year-old male patient who was diagnosed with VAF following a neck vessel ultrasound examination prompted by poor blood sugar control. The ultrasound revealed an abnormal course of the left vertebral artery, leading to the diagnosis of VAF.

Conclusion

Ultrasound, with its noninvasive nature and real-time imaging capabilities, is a valuable initial screening tool for diagnosing VAF. Despite its limitations, its ability to identify vascular anomalies such as VAF highlights its critical role in early detection, potentially improving patient outcomes and guiding clinical decision-making.

Keywords

artery/arteries - ultrasound - carotid arteries


Publication History

Received: 27 October 2024

Accepted: 18 February 2025

Article published online:
10 May 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

 

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