Rare simultaneous fetal posterior cerebral artery and conventional posterior cerebral artery duplication in a patient with a ruptured posterior communicating artery aneurysm: illustrative case

Background: The fetal-type posterior cerebral artery (PCA) is defined as a variant anatomy in which the posterior communicating artery (PCOM) is larger than the hypoplastic or aplastic P1 segment of the PCA. The authors present the novel case of a patient with a duplicated right PCA in parallel with fetal-type and conventional PCAs supplying adjacent components of the PCA cerebral territory.

Observations: A 59-year-old woman presented with a modified Fisher Scale score 4 subarachnoid hemorrhage. A right irregular PCOM aneurysm that measured 9.5 mm × 4.5 mm × 4.5 mm arose from the base of a variant branch supplying a portion of the PCA, rather than a conventional PCOM, and was found on digital subtraction angiography. Following endovascular coil embolization, the patient was discharged home.

Lessons: The fetal-type variant has implications for thromboembolic events. If an embolism occludes the anterior circulation in a patient with a fetal-type PCA, it may result in an infarct in the PCA territory. Awareness of cerebral arterial anatomy, including an atypical collateral supply, informs a treating team's latitude in tolerance of which sites must be preserved and which can be safely sacrificed. https://thejns.org/doi/10.3171/CASE23735.