Right Vertebral Artery Intermittent Flow Reversal Due to Innominate Artery Dissection

TL;DR

An elderly woman with a history of aortic dissection developed intermittent flow reversal in her right vertebral artery due to a dissection in the innominate artery.

Contribution

This is the first reported case of intermittent vertebral artery flow reversal caused by innominate artery dissection.

Findings

The patient had a history of type A aortic dissection and recent innominate artery dissection.

Color Doppler ultrasound detected intermittent flow reversal in the right vertebral artery.

This case highlights the need to consider supra-aortic trunks as potential causes of vertebral artery flow reversal.

Abstract

Here, we describe a case of an asymptomatic 73-year-old female patient who suffered from type A acute aortic dissection with epiaortic arteries involvement and underwent surgical operation 9 years ago. A follow-up color Doppler ultrasound revealed a right vertebral artery intermittent flow reversal due to innominate artery dissection. To our knowledge, no previous studies have reported this intermittent flow reversal; therefore, supra-aortic trunks should be considered among the possible causes of vertebral artery flow reversal.

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