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Purpose This report describes the need for a tailored approach for intracranial vascular occlusive disease and introduces the usefulness of the OA as a donor artery for interposition graft. Materials and Methods A 65-year-old male patient suffered from repeated transient ischemic attack (TIA). Imaging studies revealed complete occlusion of the proximal left side of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and multiple infarction in the watershed zone. We planned superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) bypass to restore cerebral blood flow and to prevent the progression of infarction. However, the parietal branch of the STA was too small in diameter and not suitable as a single donor for the bypass in order to supply sufficient blood flow. Moreover, the frontal branch of the STA had collateral channels through the periorbital anastomosis into the cerebral cortex that could result in infarction during clamping for anastomosis. Results We determined that tailored treatment planning was necessary for successful revascularization under these conditions. Thus, we performed a bypass between the parietal branch of the STA and a cortical branch of the MCA as an “insurance bypass.” Then we performed another bypass between the frontal branch of the STA and a cortical branch of the MCA using an ipsilateral occipital artery (OA) interposition graft. The patient had no perioperative complications, and postoperative imaging confirmed the restoration of cerebral blood flow. Conclusion When end-to-side anastomosis in single-branch bypass is not appropriate for cerebral revascularization, a tailored double-barrel “insurance bypass” with an OA interposed graft could be a good alternative treatment modality. In addition, an OA interposition graft is a useful option for double-barrel bypass surgery in such cases of intracranial vascular occlusive disease.

Fusiform aneurysm as a cause of hemifacial spasm (HFS) is an extremely rare condition. A 69-year-old man developed paroxysmal spasm of his left side facial muscles over a period of 5 years. Radiologic images demonstrated a left vertebral artery (VA) fusiform aneurysm compressing the root entry zone of the left facial nerve. The patient underwent serial surgical procedures for the treatment of HFS under intraoperative electromyography monitoring. Lateral spread response (LSR) did not disappear despite 5 minutes of extracranial left VA ligation and remained after cerebrospinal fluid drainage after dura opening. After interposition of the VA through Teflon felt insertion, the LSR finally disappeared. The patient became symptom free immediately after the surgery and continued as such throughout a follow-up period of 1 year. This is the first report involving real-time monitoring of the LSR changes resulting from serial procedures of decompression in an HFS caused by a fusiform aneurysm of the VA.