Congenital aneurysm presenting as peripheral facial paresis.

The incidence of intracranial aneurysms in infancy is relatively rare. They are infrequent in children less than 1 year old, and are an exception in the neonatal period. They usually originate in the internal carotid artery bifurcation, posterior circulation and seldom in the territory of the distal middle cerebral artery distribution. Infants often present with nonspecific symptoms: irritability, lethargy, vomiting, seizures and coma. Sometimes, they may present with unexpected clinical symptoms such as peripheral facial palsy. Subarachnoid hemorrhage is the most frequent presentation in this kind of aneurysms. Intracerebral hematoma is unusual. We present the case of a 10-week-old child harboring a middle cerebral artery aneurysm. To our knowledge, this is the first case of an aneurysm presenting as a peripheral facial paresis in a pediatric patient. (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.