Rebleeding from intracranial dissecting aneurysm in the vertebral artery.

We describe two patients with rebleeding from intracranial vertebral artery dissecting aneurysms during the acute stage. One patient had excellent results after emergency surgery. A review of recent reports including 60 patients with this disorder revealed a rebleeding rate of 30%, mostly during the acute stage. This suggests that a ruptured dissecting aneurysm in the vertebral artery is at risk for rebleeding during the acute stage, similar to a saccular aneurysm in the same location.