Management of A Cerebral Cavernoma During Pregnancy: Case Report

Abstract

Intracranial cavernoma is a vascular malformation composed of thin-walled vascular vessels. Blood flow in these lesions is much lower than in AVMs and their hemorrhages are usually small. The presentation is often subacute with seizures or focal neurological deficit, which can be confused in pregnant women with pregnancy toxaemia especially if the malformation is bleeding. We report the case of a 35-year-old patient , 30 weeks pregnant , admitted for delivery who presented with acute intracranial hypertension syndrome with obnubilation of consciousness. Emergency brain CT showed a right fronto-parietal intracranial hematoma. MRI with angiographic sequences show a left parietal hematoma without visible arteriovenous malformation. The patient underwent emergency surgery to evacuate her intracranial hematoma, then the patient was transferred to a gynecological unit for emergency fetal extraction. Histo-pathological analysis of the removed fragments showed an intracranial cavernoma appearance. Urgent surgical evacuation is only necessary if the prognosis is vital.