Cavernous Sinus Dural Arteriovenous Fistula with an Enhanced Lesion in the Brainstem Mimicking a Malignant Tumor.

Background: Cavernous sinus (CS) dural arteriovenous fistula (dAVF) with an enhanced lesion in the brainstem is rare, and an enhanced lesion in the brainstem might be indicative of irreversibility. Case description: A 77-year-old woman presented with double vision and ataxia. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a unilateral enhancement lesion in the pons, so a malignant brain tumor was suspected. A cerebral angiogram revealed CS-dAVF with retrograde leptomeningeal venous drainage (RLVD) to the brainstem. Transvenous embolization with selective coil embolization of RLVD was performed, and the symptoms and imaging improved dramatically.

Conclusions: DAVFs with RLVD should be mentioned as a differential diagnosis of enhanced lesions in the brainstem. Transvenous embolization with selective coil embolization of RLVD was effective for the treatment of CS-dAVF, and a unilateral enhanced brainstem lesion may be reversible.