Sudden coma after subclavian catheterization

Abstract Bilateral thalamic infarction is a very rare affection. We report here a case of bithalamic infarction during subclavian catheterization related to the accidental migration and complete occlusion of an arterial embolism to the Percheron's artery. Percheron's artery is an anatomical variation described in 1977, constituted by a solitary arterial trunk arising from one of the proximal segments of a posterior cerebral artery supplying the paramedian thalami and the rostral midbrain bilaterally. We review here the clinical presentation and discuss the aetiologies of such a cerebral infarction.