Stroke Thrombolysis in Difficult Circumstance: When Benefit May Not Overrule Risk!

Cervical artery dissection accounts for almost 20% of ischemic strokes in young patients. Vertebral artery dissection is considered less common than carotid dissection, and 18% of cases are bilateral. The typical presentation is posterior neck pain, holocranial or frontal headache, and focal neurological manifestations if a secondary ischemic event occurred. Compressive radiculopathy is a rare complication of vertebral artery dissection and C5 is the most commonly affected root. We report two cases of cervical radiculopathy, a rare complication of vertebral artery dissection.