Moyamoya Disease

Took care of a patient diagnosed with Moyamoya disease which is a very rare vascular disorder made even rarer that it normally takes place in childhood so that I took care of an adult with this disease is pretty exciting. I may never take care of someone with this disease again.

Moyamoya is a Japanese word meaning puff of smoke because that is what it looks like on an angiogram showing the blockage of the arteries in the Circle of Willis and the appearance of the vessesls that have developed to compensate for the blockage (pretty cool, huh?)

So essentially, Moyamoya disease is the progressive narrowing and blockage of the arteries in the Circle of Willis which causes irreversible blockage to the carotid arteries that feed the brain. This can be fatal, obviously!

My patient had hypertension, was of Asian descent and had been experiencing continous TIA's (transient ischemic attacks). Her treatment by a neurosurgeon was creating a bypass around the blockage just like bypasses in the heart. For me, neurologically she was confused but moving everything...but it was really hard to really assess what she was saying as she didnt speak a lick of English. She was also blind from her many TIA's.

Overall, my actual interaction with the patient wasnt that interesting...it was a smooth and easy night of providing care but her diagnosis was interesting and I wanted to share and document it!

www.mayoclinic.org/moyamoya-disease