Technique for rerouting a bridging vein that hinders the anterior interhemispheric approach: a technical note

Background The frontal bridging vein, which is the venous drainage route of the frontal cortex into the superior sagittal sinus (SSS), sometimes poses an obstacle in the anterior interhemispheric approach during surgery for anterior cerebral artery aneurysms. Although severe complications including venous infarction or edema due to damage to the bridging vein are well known, only a few reports have discussed how to avoid venous injury when we must sacrifice the bridging vein to obtain an appropriate surgical field. This report describes a microvascular technique performed in two patients who underwent rerouting of the bridging vein to obtain an appropriate anterior interhemispheric surgical corridor to treat a ruptured anterior cerebral artery aneurysm. The hindering bridging vein was resected from the entrance to the SSS and anastomosed toward the adjacent cortical vein.