A Case of Embolization of the Vertebral Artery for Bow Hunter’s Stroke

Bow hunter’s stroke is a rare disease with no established treatment. In this case report, we describe a case of Bow hunter’s stroke that was treated by embolization of the vertebral artery.The patient was a 71-year-old male with repeated cerebral infarctions in the vertebrobasilar artery reflux area in half a year. Right vertebral angiography showed stenosis at the C5/6 level, dissecting aneurysm at the C6/7 level, and occlusion at the C7 level during right rotation of the head. The right vertebral artery was on the non-dominant side. Although no thrombus formation was observed in the right vertebral artery, we diagnosed this case as a Bow hunter’s stroke caused by an embolism. Since the patient had a recurrent cerebral infarction after medical treatment, further therapeutic intervention was necessary. We performed coil embolization of the right vertebral artery, including the dissecting aneurysm. No recurrence of cerebral infarction was noted within 2 years. Embolization of the vertebral artery may be an option for the treatment of Bow hunter’s stroke caused by an embolic mechanism, under limited conditions, such as the location of the lesion being on the non-dominant side.