Isolated abducens palsy of advanced age: a rare presentation of dural carotid cavernous fistula: a case report

Abstract

Abducens palsy is the most common isolated cranial nerve palsy due to its long peripheral course. Multiple anatomical relationships, particularly within the cavernous sinus and orbita, make the nerve vulnerable. 67 year-old female patient was admitted with worsened headache and lateral gaze restriction of the left eye, which appeared recently. She had no prior history of trauma. Prominent appearance of the left cavernous sinus on cranial magnetic resonance imaging, raised the need of digital substraction angiography which revealed the presence of bilateral type D dural arteriovenous fistula of cavernous sinuses. Cavernous sinus pathologies, which are usually known to manifest with multiple ocular motor palsies because of the close relationship between 3rd, 4th and 6th nerves inside, might rarely present with isolated abducens palsy. The clinician should pay particular attention to headache in such kind of patients and dural carotid-cavernous fistula should be taken into account, even in the absence of previous trauma history.