Hemifacial spasm caused by an aberrant jugular branch of the ascending pharyngeal artery

Krystin L Thomas; Marion A Hughes; Andrew M Frederickson; Barton F Branstetter 4th; Joel A Vilensky; Raymond F Sekula

doi:10.3109/02688697.2014.957158

Hemifacial spasm caused by an aberrant jugular branch of the ascending pharyngeal artery

Br J Neurosurg. 2015 Feb;29(1):97-99. doi: 10.3109/02688697.2014.957158. Epub 2014 Sep 18.

Authors

Krystin L Thomas¹, Marion A Hughes², Andrew M Frederickson³, Barton F Branstetter 4th², Joel A Vilensky⁴, Raymond F Sekula³

Affiliations

¹ a Indiana University School of Medicine , Indianapolis , IN , USA.
² b Department of Radiology , University of Pittsburgh Medical Center , Pittsburgh , PA , USA.
³ c Department of Neurological Surgery , University of Pittsburgh Medical Center , Pittsburgh , PA , USA.
⁴ d Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology , Indiana University School of Medicine , Indianapolis , IN , USA.

PMID: 25232808
DOI: 10.3109/02688697.2014.957158

Abstract

We present the first report of a case of hemifacial spasm caused by an anomalous, enlarged branch of the ascending pharyngeal artery and treated with microvascular decompression. Clinicians must appreciate unusual causes of hemifacial spasm so that patients are not denied a curative operation due to atypical radiographic findings.

Keywords: anomalous posterior inferior cerebellar artery; ascending pharyngeal artery; hemifacial spasm; microvascular decompression; neurovascular compression.