scholarly journals Interdisciplinary Clinical Management of High Grade Arteriovenous Malformations and Ruptured Flow-Related Aneurysms in the Posterior Fossa

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 400-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mpotsaris ◽  
C. Loehr ◽  
A. Harati ◽  
F. Lohmann ◽  
M. Puchner ◽  
...  

Posterior fossa arteriovenous malformations are rare entities and treatment modalities technically challenging. In recent years new therapeutic options have emerged through microsurgical and endovascular means. Based on a series of six cases we describe combined interdisciplinary treatment strategies and report the outcome in a midterm follow-up interval of 12 months. Clinical case data were collected during acute phase and follow-up including standardized angiographic control intervals during follow-up and assessment of the outcome. Treatment options included endovascular techniques as well as microsurgical techniques. All reported cases had SAH based on ruptured flow-related aneurysms in posterior fossa AVM; three out of six had multiple aneurysms. In one case we observed a de novo formation of two flow-associated distal aneurysms in an interval of ten years. Two patients were treated only endovascularly, one patient only surgically and three patients with combined methods. Five out of six patients had a good outcome (GOS 4 or 5). One died in the acute phase. Infratentorial AVMs are rare but characterized by a high risk of rupture and SAH, especially in conjunction with flow related aneurysms, which are predictors of poor outcome. The anatomic conditions of the posterior fossa may lead quickly to life-threatening complications due to mass effects. The present study indicates that treatment strategies in the acute phase should focus on flow-related aneurysms, followed by an elective AVM embolization and ectomy whenever possible. An experienced interdisciplinary team and the combination of techniques contribute to a reduction of complications and to a better outcome.

Neurosurgery ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vernard S Fennell ◽  
Nikolay L Martirosyan ◽  
Gursant S Atwal ◽  
M Yashar S Kalani ◽  
Francisco A Ponce ◽  
...  

Abstract The understanding of the physiology of cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) continues to expand. Knowledge of the hemodynamics of blood flow associated with AVMs is also progressing as imaging and treatment modalities advance. The authors present a comprehensive literature review that reveals the physical hemodynamics of AVMs, and the effect that various treatment modalities have on AVM hemodynamics and the surrounding cortex and vasculature. The authors discuss feeding arteries, flow through the nidus, venous outflow, and the relative effects of radiosurgical monotherapy, endovascular embolization alone, and combined microsurgical treatments. The hemodynamics associated with intracranial AVMs is complex and likely changes over time with changes in the physical morphology and angioarchitecture of the lesions. Hemodynamic change may be even more of a factor as it pertains to the vast array of single and multimodal treatment options available. An understanding of AVM hemodynamics associated with differing treatment modalities can affect treatment strategies and should be considered for optimal clinical outcomes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (232) ◽  
Author(s):  
Subash Phuyal ◽  
Pooja Agrawal ◽  
Kapil Dawadi ◽  
Raju Paudel ◽  
Ritesh Lamsal

Posterior fossa arteriovenous malformations represent 7–15% of all intracranial AVMs. They carry a higher risk of rupture than supratentorial AVMs and are associated with considerable rates of morbidity and mortality. Available treatment options include conservative management, microsurgical resection, radiosurgery, endovascular embolization, or combinations of these modalities. Recent advances in endovascular techniques have revolutionized their management with better clinical outcomes. We illustrate two cases of posterior fossa AVMs treated by endovascular techniques with good clinical outcomes. The first patient also had associated flow-related aneurysms. One of these aneurysms had already ruptured, so it was coiled first followed by AVM nidus embolization using the same microcatheter. The second patient had a diffuse type of posterior fossa AVM for which staged-embolization was planned and the first-stage partial embolization was successfully performed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew D Alexander ◽  
Daniel L Cooke ◽  
Danial K Hallam ◽  
Helen Kim ◽  
Steven W Hetts ◽  
...  

Introduction To mitigate risks of hemorrhage, high-risk features of brain arteriovenous malformations (BAVMs) can be targeted to reduce the risk of rupture. Previous investigation has examined embolization of a pedicle supplying a high-risk feature; this study examines embolization targeted specifically at aneurysms associated with BAVMs. Materials and methods Patients with BAVMs treated at two high-volume neurointerventional services were retrospectively reviewed. Patients treated with intention to occlude only the associated aneurysm itself were analyzed. Demographic and lesion characteristics were identified, as were technical and clinical outcomes. Adverse events were defined as hemorrhage, new seizure, and death. Results Thirty-two patients met inclusion criteria out of 1103 patients treated during the study period. Twenty-seven (84.4%) BAVMs were acutely ruptured, all with the aneurysm identified as the hemorrhage source. Twenty-four (75.0%) lesions involved eloquent territory. There were equal numbers of feeding artery and nidus aneurysms. Follow-up data were available for a total of 101.3 patient-years for a mean follow-up time of 2.9 years. One patient died; the remaining 31 patients had improved functional status at last contact. Annualized rate of hemorrhage after treatment was 1.0%; rate of adverse events after treatment was 3.0%. Excluding time after confirmed occlusion following radiosurgery, annualized rates were 1.4% and 4.8%, respectively. Conclusion In inoperable BAVMs, targeted embolization of associated aneurysms can be performed safely and effectively. This should be considered in high-risk lesions prior to radiosurgery or in cases when no other treatment options are available. Such intervention warrants further investigation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 2803
Author(s):  
Carolin Czauderna ◽  
Martha M. Kirstein ◽  
Hauke C. Tews ◽  
Arndt Vogel ◽  
Jens U. Marquardt

Cholangiocarcinomas (CCAs) are the second-most common primary liver cancers. CCAs represent a group of highly heterogeneous tumors classified based on anatomical localization into intra- (iCCA) and extrahepatic CCA (eCCA). In contrast to eCCA, the incidence of iCCA is increasing worldwide. Curative treatment strategies for all CCAs involve oncological resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy in early stages, whereas chemotherapy is administered at advanced stages of disease. Due to late diagnosis, high recurrence rates, and limited treatment options, the prognosis of patients remains poor. Comprehensive molecular characterization has further revealed considerable heterogeneity and distinct prognostic and therapeutic traits for iCCA and eCCA, indicating that specific treatment modalities are required for different subclasses. Several druggable alterations and oncogenic drivers such as fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 gene fusions and hotspot mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 mutations have been identified. Specific inhibitors have demonstrated striking antitumor activity in affected subgroups of patients in phase II and III clinical trials. Thus, improved understanding of the molecular complexity has paved the way for precision oncological approaches. Here, we outline current advances in targeted treatments and immunotherapeutic approaches. In addition, we delineate future perspectives for different molecular subclasses that will improve the clinical care of iCCA patients.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 644-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Renieri ◽  
Eytan Raz ◽  
Giuseppe Lanzino ◽  
Timo Krings ◽  
Maksim Shapiro ◽  
...  

Background and purposeSpinal arterial aneurysms are a rare cause of spinal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We performed a retrospective review of spinal arterial aneurysms not associated with spinal arteriovenus shunts from three institutions in order to better understand the clinical and imaging characteristics of these lesions.Materials and methodsWe performed a retrospective review of spinal arterial aneurysms managed at three North American institutions. For each patient, the following information was collected: demographic data, clinical presentation, comorbidities, imaging findings, and neurological status at the last follow-up. Treatment strategies and outcomes were reported.Results11 patients were included; 7 were women and median age was 60 years. The most common presentation was sudden back pain (81.8%). We found 3 aneurysms on the radiculomedullary artery and 8 along the radiculopial arteries. Of the 3 aneurysms on the radiculomedullary artery, 1 was treated conservatively, 1 was treated with coiling of the aneurysm and sacrifice of the radiculomedullary artery, and 1 was treated with surgical trapping. The 8 aneurysms on the radiculopial artery were treated endovascularly in 4 cases, surgically in 1 case, and conservatively in 3 cases. One surgically treated patient had a spinal subdural hematoma. There were no other complications. Mean clinical follow-up time was 20 months, and 87.5% of patients were functionally independent.ConclusionsSpinal arterial aneurysms are lesions which commonly present with sudden back pain and spinal SAH. Conservative, surgical, and endovascular treatment options are safe and effective. Long term outcomes in these patients are generally good.


2011 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 400-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G. Whitmore ◽  
Christopher Urban ◽  
Ephraim Church ◽  
Michael Ruckenstein ◽  
Sherman C. Stein ◽  
...  

Object Widespread use of MR imaging has contributed to the more frequent diagnosis of vestibular schwannomas (VSs). These tumors represent 10% of primary adult intracranial neoplasms, and if they are symptomatic, they usually present with hearing loss and tinnitus. Currently, there are 3 treatment options for quality of life (QOL): wait and scan, microsurgery, and radiosurgery. In this paper, the authors' purpose is to determine which treatment modality yields the highest QOL at 5- and 10-year follow-up, considering the likelihood of recurrence and various complications. Methods The MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane online databases were searched for English-language articles published between 1990 and June 2008, containing key words relating to VS. Data were pooled to calculate the prevalence of treatment complications, tumor recurrence, and QOL with various complications. For parameters in which incidence varied with time of follow-up, the authors used meta-regression to determine the mean prevalence rates at a specified length of follow-up. A decision-analytical model was constructed to compare 5- and 10-year outcomes for a patient with a unilateral tumor and partially intact hearing. The 3 treatment options, wait and scan, microsurgery, and radiosurgery, were compared. Results After screening more than 2500 abstracts, the authors ultimately included 113 articles in this analysis. Recurrence, complication rates, and onset of complication varied with the treatment chosen. The relative QOL at the 5-year follow-up was 0.898 of normal for wait and scan, 0.953 for microsurgery, and 0.97 for radiosurgery. These differences are significant (p < 0.0052). Data were too scarce at the 10-year follow-up to calculate significant differences between the microsurgery and radiosurgery strategies. Conclusions At 5 years, patients treated with radiosurgery have an overall better QOL than those treated with either microsurgery or those investigated further with serial imaging. The authors found that the complications associated with wait-and-scan and microsurgery treatment strategies negatively impacted patient lives more than the complications from radiosurgery. One limitation of this study is that the 10-year follow-up data were too limited to analyze, and more studies are needed to determine if the authors' results are still consistent at 10 years.


2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jh Phillips ◽  
Cl Tang ◽  
D Armstrong ◽  
T De Chalain ◽  
R Zuker

Due to the rarity of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), there is a paucity of information on the outcomes of various treatments. Presently, the mainstays of treatment of an AVM are embolization, surgical excision or a combination of both. A retrospective study of 26 patients with AVMs treated at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario between 1985 and 1995 was performed. The treatment strategies and patient outcomes were compared in terms of efficacy, complications and the response of patients and their families to their overall treatment. The overall findings showed that embolization alone was effective in controlling symptoms, but may be associated with an increased AVM size. A partial excision of an AVM does not appear to exacerbate recurrence, as has been previously reported. In fact, even after what appears to be a complete excision of the AVM, recurrence may still occur. Complications from a surgical excision of the AVM are more frequent but less devastating than complications from embolization of the lesion. The overall patient or parent satisfaction with treatment was high with respect to improvement in outcome. It is expected that with an increasing understanding of vascular malformations, and the evolution of interventional radiological techniques, complications will decrease and results as a whole will improve.


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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. 874-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Vandefonteyne ◽  
Jean-Pierre Caujolle ◽  
Laurence Rosier ◽  
John Conrath ◽  
Gabriel Quentel ◽  
...  

PurposePeripheral exudative haemorrhagic chorioretinopathy (PEHCR) is a rare disorder that is often misdiagnosed. The aim of this study was to better characterise PEHCR and to assess treatment options.Material and methodsRetrospective multicentric chart review.ResultsOf 84 eyes (69 patients) with PEHCR referred between 2005 and 2017, the most common referral diagnosis was choroidal melanoma (41.3%). Bilateral involvement was found in 21.7% of cases. Haemorrhagic retinal pigment epithelium detachment was the most common peripheral lesion (53.6%). Maculopathy was associated with peripheral lesions in 65.8% of cases. PEHCR lesions were mostly heterogeneous (58.8%) on B-scan ultrasonography. Choroidal neovascularisation was found in 10 eyes (26.3%) out of 38 eyes that underwent fluorescein angiography. Polyps were observed in 14 eyes (58.3%) out of 24 eyes that underwent indocyanine green angiography. Fifty-one eyes were treated (62.2%). Intravitreal injections (IVTI) of antivascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were the most used treatment (36.6%) before laser photocoagulation, photodynamic therapy, vitrectomy and cryotherapy. Only vitrectomy improved visual acuity. Most lesions (65.6%) regressed at the last follow-up visit.ConclusionIn case of PEHCR, multimodal imaging is useful to avoid misdiagnosis, to characterise PEHCR lesions and to guide treatment strategies. Regression of PEHCR lesions was observed in two-thirds of the patients. Vitrectomy improved visual acuity. More than a third of patients underwent anti-VEGF IVTI. Further studies are needed to assess IVTI’s efficacy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trisha Plastini ◽  
Arthur Staddon

Sertoli-Leydig Cell Tumors (SLCTs) make up <1% of all ovarian tumors and are benign or malignant, androgen-secreting tumors. Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a heterogeneous group of malignant tumors that resemble developing skeletal muscle. There have been case reports of patients with concurrent SLCT and RMS with limited treatment options. We aim to demonstrate treatment strategies used in our patients, which seemed to have prolonged survival when compared to prior case reports of patients not cured by surgical resection. Herein we describe 22 cases of SLCT with RMS elements as discussed in prior case reports and three cases from the authors’ institution. Of the 19 cases from prior case reports, five were lost to follow-up and two had NED after surgical intervention. Eleven patients had recurrence and were deceased within one year. Of those patients not surgically cured, only three patients were documented as living beyond two years, all of whom received chemotherapy. The three patients presented from our institution had clinical evidence of response to chemotherapy that is traditionally used for RMS. In conclusion, chemotherapy with doxorubicin and ifosfamide has activity in patients with SLCT and RMS as does salvage chemotherapy with vincristine, irinotecan, and temozolomide.


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