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Case Report
Moyamoya disease diagnosed during pregnancy
1 Resident, SLUCare/SSM Health, St. Louis, MO, USA
2 Professor, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, SLUCare/SSM Health, St. Louis, MO, USA
3 Assistant Professor, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, SLUCare/SSM Health, St. Louis, MO, USA
Address correspondence to:
Olivia Wilson
MD, 6420 Clayton Rd, 2nd Floor, Richmond Heights, MO 63117,
USA
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Article ID: 100213Z08OW2025
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Wilson O, Gross G, Buchanan C. Moyamoya disease diagnosed during pregnancy. J Case Rep Images Obstet Gynecol 2025;11(2):23–27.ABSTRACT
Introduction: Moyamoya is a rare cerebrovascular disease in which the terminal, intracranial portions of the carotid arteries are progressively narrowed, resulting in the development of a tenuous network of small, collateral vessels. The exact etiology is unknown; however, these patients are at greater risk for both ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes. The risk of stroke in patients with Moyamoya disease increases during pregnancy, likely due to changes in vascular dynamics and other pregnancy-related physiological changes. Most cases of Moyamoya in pregnancy describe patient’s diagnosed preconception. The handful of case reports of moyamoya diagnosed in pregnancy have guarded outcomes.
Case Report: This case report describes the pregnancy of a patient in her 30s who was diagnosed with Moyamoya at 13 weeks of gestation. She suffered three ischemic strokes prior to iatrogenic preterm delivery at 27 weeks and 5 days of pregnancy. Postpartum, she had a massive left hemispheric infarct leading to her demise.
Conclusion: The clinical course and outcome for this patient suggests that Moyamoya disease without evidence of medical or surgical control may be a contraindication to pregnancy.
Keywords: Moyamoya, Postpartum, Pregnancy, Stroke
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Acknowledgments
Thank you to all the OB/GYN residents and faculty who contributed to the care of this patient throughout her prenatal care and several admission.
Author ContributionsOlivia Wilson - Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Interpretation of data, Drafting the article, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Gilad Gross - Interpretation of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Christopher Buchanan - Interpretation of data, Revising it critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published
Guaranter of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2025 Olivia Wilson et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
