Indirect cavernous carotid fistula in a 12-year-old girl

Abstract

We present a very rare case of indirect cavernous carotid fistula (CCF) in a 12-year-old girl. Indirect CCF is extremely rare in the paediatric population. A 12-year-old girl presented with a 7-month history of frontal headaches and intermittent left-sided proptosis. On examination, she had dilated and engorged scleral veins on the left eye, mild dysdiadochokinesia and past pointing on the left side. A brain computer tomography with contrast, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and interventional radiography (IR) cerebral angiogram confirmed the diagnosis of CCF. The CCF was embolized and a follow-up brain MRI and an IR cerebral angiogram were conducted over the course of 8 months that revealed no evidence of residual CCF. CCF, though rare in the paediatric population, should be highly considered in the differential diagnosis when dilated scleral veins, proptosis and dysdiadokinesis are present in the clinical setting. Prompt treatment has good prognostic results.