Post-Traumatic Middle Cerebral Artery Pseudoaneurysm Following Depressed Skull Fracture: Case Report and PRISMA-Guided Literature Review

Traumatic intracranial aneurysms (TICAs) are rare lesions accounting for <1% of intracranial aneurysms and are associated with high morbidity and mortality. They frequently arise after blunt trauma and may develop days to months following the initial injury, often evading early vascular imaging. Pseudoaneurysms predominate and carry a high risk of rupture. We report the case of a patient who sustained a severe head injury with a comminuted open depressed temporoparietal skull fracture, epidural hematoma, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and mandibular fracture after a road traffic accident. Initial vascular imaging revealed no aneurysm. At six-month follow-up, CT angiography demonstrated a 7 × 5 mm pseudoaneurysm arising from the rolandic branch of the right M3 middle cerebral artery, within an area of post-traumatic encephalomalacia. The aneurysm was confirmed by MRI/MRA and treated successfully with microsurgical clipping. This case underscores the importance of delayed vascular imaging in trauma patients with skull fractures or parenchymal injury, even when early angiography is normal. TICAs may develop over several months, and timely identification permits definitive management before rupture.