scholarly journals Catch me if you can: disappearing and reappearing posterior fossa dural arteriovenous malformation

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. e229437
Author(s):  
Guilherme J Agnoletto ◽  
Jason M Hoover ◽  
Andre Monteiro ◽  
Ricardo A Hanel

We report an unusual case of a dural arteriovenous fistula (dAVF) presenting as acute neck pain and quadripareis in a 55-year-old previously healthy man. Imaging was suspicious for cervicomedullary venous thrombosis and angiography failed to show evidence of arteriovenous malformation or dAVF. The patient was started on warfarin for a presumed cervicomedullary venous thrombosis and there was a significant clinical improvement. However, 3 weeks later, the symptoms recurred and repeat angiography revealed a dAVF fed by a posterior branch of the left middle meningeal artery draining into the posterior fossa vein. We postulated that warfarin caused recanalisation of the previously thrombosed venous pouch allowing for angiographic discovery and treatment of the dAVF. The dAVF was embolised with onyx resulting in the complete obliteration of the dAVF and symptomatic improvement. Although rare, some dAVF can be concealed or disappear on angiography due to thrombosis of the draining vein and warfarin can lead to recanalisation.

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 257
Author(s):  
Ambooj Tiwari ◽  
Adam A. Dmytriw ◽  
Ryan Bo ◽  
Nathan Farkas ◽  
Phillip Ye ◽  
...  

Objective: To study the efficacy of middle meningeal artery (MMA) embolization for the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma (SDH) and characterize its post-embolization volumetric resolution. Methods: Ten patients diagnosed with 13 cSDH underwent MMA embolization. SDH volumes were measured from time of initial discovery on imaging to pre-operative, post-operative, short-term and long-term follow-up. Time between procedure to obliteration was also measured. Volumetric analysis was done using the coniglobus formula, and recurrence rate as well as resolution timeline was defined using best-fit models. Results: Out of 10 patients, five were recurrent lesions, three were bilateral and seven unilateral cSDH. Average and median pre-operative volumes were 105.3 cc and 97.4 cc, respectively. Embolization on average was performed 21 days after discovery. Sixty percent of patients had concurrent antiplatelets or anticoagulation use. Forty percent underwent embolization treatment as the primary therapy. Recurrence was not seen in any patients treated with embolization. There were no peri- or post-operative complications. Five patients experienced complete or near-complete obliteration, while those with partial resolution showed a composite average of 75% volumetric reduction in 45 days. Post-embolization, the volumetric resolution followed an exponential decay curve over time and was independent of initial volume. Conclusion: MMA embolization contributed to a marked reduction in SDH volume post-operatively and can be used as a curative therapy for primary or recurrent chronic SDH.


1977 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Matsumura ◽  
Yasumasa Makita ◽  
Kuniyuki Someda ◽  
Akinori Kondo

✓ We have operated on 12 of 14 cases of arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the posterior fossa since 1968, with one death. The lesions were in the cerebellum in 10 cases (three anteromedial, one central, three lateral, and three posteromedial), and in the cerebellopontine angle in two; in two cases the lesions were directly related to the brain stem. The AVM's in the anterior part of the cerebellum were operated on through a transtentorial occipital approach.


2000 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narendra N. Datta ◽  
Kwong Y. Chan ◽  
John C. K. Kwok ◽  
Christopher Y. F. Poon

Patients with cerebellar arteriovenous malformations (AVM) commonly present to the neurosurgical department after having suffered hemorrhages. The subarachnoid space is the usual location for these often repeating episodes of bleedings. In addition, these patients can present with parenchymal hemorrhage. Acute subdural hematoma caused by a ruptured cerebellar AVM is a rare entity and is not generally recognized. The authors present a case of acute posterior fossa subdural hematoma resulting from a ruptured cerebellar AVM.


1992 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. 871-874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas H. Milhorat ◽  
Walter D. Johnson ◽  
John I. Miller

✓ Syrinx shunts to the spinal subarachnoid space are likely to fail if the cerebrospinal fluid pathways rostral to the syrinx are blocked. To bypass obstructions at or below the level of the foramen magnum, a technique was developed for shunting the syrinx to the posterior fossa cisterns, termed “syringocisternostomy.” Syrinxes were shunted to the cisterna magna in two patients with spinal arachnoiditis and to the cerebellopontine angle cistern in four patients with Chiari I malformations. There was symptomatic improvement and collapse of the syrinx in each case, with no complications or recurrences over a follow-up interval of 14 to 27 months (average 20.3 months). The surgical technique and results of treatment are described.


1973 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben B. Scott ◽  
Joachim F. Seeger ◽  
Richard C. Schneider

✓ A posterior fossa exploration was performed on a child thought initially to have an inoperable brain stem lesion. A pontine hematoma was discovered and evacuated. The pathological specimen was designated as a “cryptic” arteriovenous malformation. All preoperative neurological deficits disappeared except for a minimal left seventh nerve palsy.


1974 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 502-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl J. Graf ◽  
Arnold H. Menezes

✓ The authors report a case in which the blood supply of a posterior fossa arteriovenous malformation was derived entirely from the external carotid artery.


2008 ◽  
Vol 108 (6) ◽  
pp. 1152-1161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Kelly ◽  
Raphael Guzman ◽  
John Sinclair ◽  
Teresa E. Bell-Stephens ◽  
Regina Bower ◽  
...  

Object Posterior fossa arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are relatively uncommon and often difficult to treat. The authors present their experience with multimodality treatment of 76 posterior fossa AVMs, with an emphasis on Spetzler–Martin Grades III–V AVMs. Methods Seventy-six patients with posterior fossa AVMs treated with radiosurgery, surgery, and endovascular techniques were analyzed. Results Between 1982 and 2006, 36 patients with cerebellar AVMs, 33 with brainstem AVMs, and 7 with combined cerebellar–brainstem AVMs were treated. Natural history data were calculated for all 76 patients. The risk of hemorrhage from presentation until initial treatment was 8.4% per year, and it was 9.6% per year after treatment and before obliteration. Forty-eight patients had Grades III–V AVMs with a mean follow-up of 4.8 years (range 0.1–18.4 years, median 3.1 years). Fifty-two percent of patients with Grades III–V AVMs had complete obliteration at the last follow-up visit. Three (21.4%) of 14 patients were cured with a single radiosurgery treatment, and 4 (28.6%) of 14 with 1 or 2 radiosurgery treatments. Twenty-one (61.8%) of 34 patients were cured with multimodality treatment. The mean Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score after treatment was 3.8. Multivariate analysis performed in the 48 patients with Grades III–V AVMs showed radiosurgery alone to be a negative predictor of cure (p = 0.0047). Radiosurgery treatment alone was not a positive predictor of excellent clinical outcome (GOS Score 5; p > 0.05). Nine (18.8%) of 48 patients had major neurological complications related to treatment. Conclusions Single-treatment radiosurgery has a low cure rate for posterior fossa Spetzler–Martin Grades III–V AVMs. Multimodality therapy nearly tripled this cure rate, with an acceptable risk of complications and excellent or good clinical outcomes in 81% of patients. Radiosurgery alone should be used for intrinsic brainstem AVMs, and multimodality treatment should be considered for all other posterior fossa AVMs.


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