An unusual complication of hypertensive hemorrhage - Delayed oculomotor palsy: Case report and literature review

Abstract

We present a case of oculomotor palsy due to hypertensive hemorrhage in the caudate nucleus, with intraventricular extension. To our knowledge, this is the only instance of this complication occurring due to hypertensive hemorrhage. Our patient initially developed headache at the time of her hemorrhage; 8 days later, she developed complete third nerve palsy, which showed improvement at follow-up 4 months later. This was due to tracking of blood into the perimesencephalic cistern. The presence of hemorrhage in the basal cisterns was not visible on the initial CT scans and highlights the role of MRI in evaluating the brainstem for the presence of blood products. © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.