Treatment of brain arteriovenous malformations by embolization and radiosurgery

1996 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Pierre Gobin ◽  
Alexandre Laurent ◽  
Louis Merienne ◽  
Maurice Schlienger ◽  
Armand Aymard ◽  
...  

✓ Embolization was used to reduce the size of brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) prior to radiosurgical treatment in 125 patients who were poor surgical candidates or had refused surgery. Of these patients, 81% had suffered hemorrhage, and 22.4% had undergone treatment at another institution. According to the Spetzler—Martin scale, the AVMs were Grade II in 9.6%, Grade III in 31.2%, Grade IV in 30.4%, and Grades V to VI in 28.8% of the cases. Most embolizations were performed using cyanoacrylate delivered by flow-guided microcatheters. Radiosurgery was performed using a linear accelerator in 62 patients treated by the authors, and 34 patients were treated at other institutions using various methods. Embolization produced total occlusion in 11.2% of AVMs and reduced 76% of AVMs enough to allow radiosurgery. Radiosurgery produced total occlusion in 65% of the partially embolized AVMs (79% when the residual nidus was < 2 cm in diameter). Embolizations resulted in a mortality rate of 1.6% and a morbidity rate of 12.8%. No complications were associated with radiosurgery. The hemorrhage rate for partially embolized AVMs was 3% per year. No patient with a completely occluded AVM experienced rehemorrhage. Angiographic follow-up review of AVMs embolized with cyanoacrylate demonstrated a 11.8% revascularization rate, occurring within 1 year. It is concluded that after partial embolization with cyanoacrylate, the risk of hemorrhage from the residual nidus is comparable to the natural history of AVMs and that the residual nidus can be irradiated with results almost as good as for a native AVM of the same size.

1988 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 352-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Brown ◽  
David O. Wiebers ◽  
Glenn Forbes ◽  
W. Michael O'Fallon ◽  
David G. Piepgras ◽  
...  

✓ The authors conducted a long-term follow-up study of 168 patients to define the natural history of clinically unruptured intracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVM's). Charts of patients seen at the Mayo Clinic between 1974 and 1985 were reviewed. Follow-up information was obtained on 166 patients until death, surgery, or other intervention, or for at least 4 years after diagnosis (mean follow-up time 8.2 years). All available cerebral arteriograms and computerized tomography scans of the head were reviewed. Intracranial hemorrhage occurred in 31 patients (18%), due to AVM rupture in 29 and secondary to AVM or aneurysm rupture in two. The mean risk of hemorrhage was 2.2% per year, and the observed annual rates of hemorrhage increased over time. The risk of death from rupture was 29%, and 23% of survivors had significant long-term morbidity. The size of the AVM and the presence of treated or untreated hypertension were of no value in predicting rupture.


1997 ◽  
Vol 86 (5) ◽  
pp. 801-805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael K. Morgan ◽  
Katharine J. Drummond ◽  
Verity Grinnell ◽  
William Sorby

✓ The aim of this study was to compare complications of surgery in arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) supplied by the middle cerebral artery (MCA) with and without a lenticulostriate arterial contribution. Ninety-two consecutive surgical resections of AVMs with an angiographically demonstrated MCA supply were performed between January 1989 and July 1996. Ten of these cases had a significant lenticulostriate arterial contribution. The cases were graded according to the Spetzler—Martin classification. There were no deaths and 4.3% of cases developed new major neurological deficit by the 3-month follow-up examination. All cases had angiographically confirmed obliteration of the AVM. There were no complications in 16 patients with Spetzler—Martin Grade I AVMs, one case of complications in 40 patients with Grade II AVMs, eight cases of complications in 26 patients with Grade III AVMs, and seven cases of complications in 10 patients with Grade IV and V AVMs. The supply of blood from lenticulostriate branches was associated with complications in eight of the 10 cases. The effect of the presence of a lenticulostriate arterial supply was most apparent in cases of Grade III AVMs: complications were experienced in three of 20 patients whose AVMs were not supplied by the arteries and in five of six patients whose AVMs were fed by the lenticulostriate arteries. This difference is significant (p < 0.0001). The conclusions drawn from this study are that for Grade III AVMs, the presence of a lenticulostriate arterial supply can be considered a factor predictive of an increased risk of surgical complications.


2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. E7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Josh Abecassis ◽  
David S. Xu ◽  
H. Hunt Batjer ◽  
Bernard R. Bendok

Object The authors aimed to systematically review the literature to clarify the natural history of brain arteriovenous malformations (BAVMs). Methods The authors searched PubMed for one or more of the following terms: natural history, brain arteriovenous malformations, cerebral arteriovenous malformations, and risk of rupture. They included studies that reported annual rates of hemorrhage and that included either 100 patients or 5 years of treatment-free follow-up. Results The incidence of BAVMs is 1.12–1.42 cases per 100,000 person-years; 38%–68% of new cases are first-ever hemorrhage. The overall annual rates of hemorrhage for patients with untreated BAVMs range from 2.10% to 4.12%. Consistently implicated in subsequent hemorrhage are initial hemorrhagic presentation, exclusively deep venous drainage, and deep and infrantentorial brain location. The risk for rupture seems to be increased by large nidus size and concurrent arterial aneurysms, although these factors have not been studied as thoroughly. Venous stenosis has not been implicated in increased risk for rupture. Conclusions For patients with BAVMs, although the overall risk for hemorrhage seems to be 2.10%–4.12% per year, calculating an accurate risk profile for decision making involves clinical attention and accounting for specific features of the malformation.


Stroke ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Maruyama ◽  
Hisae Mori ◽  
Tetsu Satow ◽  
Hiroharu Kataoka ◽  
Sei Sugata ◽  
...  

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the selection and outcomes of multimodal interventional treatment for unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) in A Randomised trial of Unruptured Brain Arteriovenous malformations (ARUBA)-eligible patients in a single institution. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 94 patients with unruptured and untreated AVMs, who had modified Rankin scale (mRS) scores of 0 or 1 at our institution between 2002 and 2014. The patients were divided into an intervention group and a conservative group, and the outcomes were compared. Similar to ARUBA, we defined the primary outcome as the composite endpoint of death or symptomatic stroke. The mRS was used to assess the functional outcome. Results: Of the 94 patients, 75 were included in the intervention group and 19 were included in the conservative group. Additionally, among the 94 patients, 58, 29, and 7 patients had Spetzler-Martin grade I/II, III, and IV/V AVMs, respectively. The number of male patients and the mean age of the patients were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the conservative group (58.6% vs. 84.2%, P=0.03 and 40.8±13.9 vs. 48.4±18.4 years, P=0.04, respectively). However, no significant difference in the proportion of patients with grade I/II AVMs was noted between the groups (65.3% vs. 47.3%). In the intervention and conservative groups, the mean follow-up periods were 59.2±41.6 and 72.8±39.2 months, respectively (P=0.20), and the primary outcome occurred in 9 (12.3%) and 3 (17.6%) patients, respectively (P=0.56). The proportion of patients with a mRS score ≥2 at last follow-up was not significantly different between the two groups (6.9% vs. 11.7%). In the intervention group, the incidence of death or stroke was lower and functional outcomes were better among patients with grade I/II AVMs than among patients with grade III AVMs (4.1% vs. 20%, P=0.003 and 2.0% vs. 15.7%, P=0.04, respectively). Conclusion: The present study found that for patients with unruptured AVMs, interventional treatment is not inferior to medical treatment alone. Multimodal interventional treatment is associated with good outcomes in patients with grade I/II AVMs. However, careful selection should be considered for patients with grade III AVMs.


1996 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham Kader ◽  
James T. Goodrich ◽  
William J. Sonstein ◽  
Bennett M. Stein ◽  
Peter W. Carmel ◽  
...  

✓ Angiography has been considered to be the gold standard to judge the success of treatment for cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Patients without residual nidus or early draining veins on postoperative angiograms are considered cured, with the risk of hemorrhage eliminated. A series of five patients with recurrent AVMs after negative postoperative angiography is described. All patients had hemispheric AVMs, presented initially with hemorrhage, and were between 5 and 13 years of age. Recurrence was noted 1 to 9 years later (at 12–16 years of age); after a hemorrhage in three patients, seizures in one, and on follow-up magnetic resonance imaging in one. Four patients underwent angiography that showed recurrence of the AVM at or adjacent to the original site. Three years postsurgery, the fifth patient died from a large intracerebral and intraventricular hemorrhage originating in the previous location of the AVM; however, the patient did not undergo angiography at the time of recurrence. The initial negative angiograms obtained postoperatively in these patients may be explained by postoperative spasm or thrombosis of a small residual malformation. However, in the authors' cumulative experience with 808 patients who have undergone complete surgical removal of AVMs (of whom 667 were older than 18 years of age), no case of recurrent AVM has been observed in an adult. Therefore, actual regrowth of an AVM may occur in children and could be a consequence of their relatively immature cerebral vasculature and may involve active angiogenesis mediated by humoral factors. The present findings argue against the assumption that AVMs are strictly congenital lesions resulting from failure of capillary formation during early embryogenesis. It is concluded that delayed imaging studies should be considered in children at least 1 year after their initial negative postoperative arteriogram to exclude a recurrent AVM.


1990 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen L. Ondra ◽  
Henry Troupp ◽  
Eugene D. George ◽  
Karen Schwab

✓ The authors have updated a series of 166 prospectively followed unoperated symptomatic patients with arteriovenous malformations (AVM's) of the brain. Follow-up data were obtained for 160 (96%) of the original population, with a mean follow-up period of 23.7 years. The rate of major rebleeding was 4.0% per year, and the mortality rate was 1.0% per year. At follow-up review, 23% of the series were dead from AVM hemorrhage. The combined rate of major morbidity and mortality was 2.7% per year. These annual rates remained essentially constant over the entire period of the study. There was no difference in the incidence of rebleeding or death regardless of presentation with or without evidence of hemorrhage. The mean interval between initial presentation and subsequent hemorrhage was 7.7 years.


Neurosurgery ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 398-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomoyuki Koga ◽  
Masahiro Shin ◽  
Keisuke Maruyama ◽  
Atsuro Terahara ◽  
Nobuhito Saito

Abstract BACKGROUND Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) in the thalamus carry a high risk of hemorrhage. Although stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is widely accepted because of the high surgical morbidity and mortality of these lesions, precise long-term outcomes are largely unknown. OBJECTIVE To review our experience with SRS for thalamic AVMs based on the latest follow-up data. METHODS Forty-eight patients with thalamic AVMs were treated by SRS using the Leksell Gamma Knife and were followed. Long-term outcomes including the obliteration rate, hemorrhage after treatment, and adverse effects were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS The annual hemorrhage rate before SRS was 14%. The mean follow-up period after SRS was 66 months (range 6–198 months). The actuarial obliteration rate confirmed by angiography was 82% at 5 years after treatment, and the annual hemorrhage rate after SRS was 0.36%. Factors associated with higher obliteration rates were previous hemorrhage (P = .004) and treatment using new planning software (P = .001). Persistent worsening of neurological symptoms was observed in 17% and more frequently seen in patients who were treated using older planning software (P = .04) and a higher margin dose (P = .02). The morbidity rate for patients who received treatment planned using new software with a margin dose not more than 20 Gy was 12%. CONCLUSION SRS for thalamic AVMs achieved a high obliteration rate and effectively decreased the risk of hemorrhage, with less morbidity compared with other modalities. Longer follow-up to evaluate the risk of delayed complications and the effort to minimize the morbidity is necessary.


2002 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 779-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Shin ◽  
Shunsuke Kawamoto ◽  
Hiroki Kurita ◽  
Masao Tago ◽  
Tomio Sasaki ◽  
...  

Object. To obtain information essential to the decision to perform radiosurgery for arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) in children and adolescents, the authors retrospectively analyzed their experience with gamma knife surgery for AVMs in 100 patients ranging in age from 4 to 19 years. Methods. Follow-up periods ranged from 6 to 124 months (median 71 months), and the actuarial obliteration rates demonstrated by angiography were 84.1, 89.4, and 94.7% at 3, 4, and 5 years, respectively. Factors associated with better obliteration rates in univariate analysis included the following: a patient age of 12 years or younger; a mean nidus diameter of 2 cm or less; a nidus volume of 3.8 cm3 or less; a maximum diameter of the nidus less than 3 cm; and a Spetzler—Martin grade of III or less. Radiation-induced neuropathy was seen in four patients, and the risk factors were considered to be a nidus in the brainstem and a maximum radiation dose greater than 40 Gy. Hemorrhage developed during the latency interval in four patients, and one patient with a cerebellar AVM died of the hemorrhage. The annual bleeding rate was 1.5%. Feeding arteries located in the posterior cranial fossa and an AVM nidus located in the cerebellum were significantly associated with the risk of hemorrhage. After angiographically verified obliteration of the nidus, 51 patients continued to be observed from 1 to 110 months (median 67 months); hemorrhage developed in one patient 38 months after nidus obliteration. Conclusions. Radiosurgery is an acceptable treatment for small AVMs in children and adolescents in whom a higher obliteration rate can be achieved with lower risks of interval hemorrhage compared with the reported results in the general population. Careful follow-up observation seems to be required, however, even after angiographically verified obliteration.


1998 ◽  
Vol 89 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Redekop ◽  
Karel TerBrugge ◽  
Walter Montanera ◽  
Robert Willinsky

Object. The goal of this study was to develop a classification system for aneurysms associated with arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) based on their anatomical and pathophysiological relationships and to determine the incidence and bleeding rates for these aneurysms as well as the effects of AVM treatment on their natural history. Methods. Of 632 patients with AVMs, intranidal aneurysms were found in 35 (5.5%) and flow-related aneurysms in 71 (11.2%). Patients with intranidal aneurysms presented more frequently with hemorrhage (72% compared with 40%, p < 0.001) and had a 9.8% per year risk rate of bleeding during follow-up review. Twelve (17%) of the patients with flow-related aneurysms associated with an AVM presented with hemorrhage from an aneurysm, whereas 15 (21%) bled from their AVM. Seventeen patients underwent angiography after AVM treatment (mean 2.25 years). Of 23 proximal aneurysms, 18 (78.3%) were unchanged, four (17.4%) were smaller, and one (4.3%) had disappeared, whereas four (80%) of five distal aneurysms regressed completely and one was unchanged. Sixteen patients underwent angiography after partial AVM treatment (mean 3.8 years). In cases with less than a 50% reduction in the AVM, no aneurysms regressed, although two enlarged and bled. In cases with greater than a 50% reduction in the AVM, two of three distal aneurysms disappeared and five proximal aneurysms were unchanged. Conclusions. Arterial aneurysms associated with cerebral AVMs may be classified as intranidal, flow-related, or unrelated to the AVM nidus. Intranidal aneurysms have a high correlation with hemorrhagic clinical presentation and a risk of bleeding during the follow-up period that considerably exceeds that which would be expected in their absence. Patients with flow-related aneurysms in association with an AVM may present with hemorrhage from either lesion. Aneurysms that arise on distal feeding arteries near the nidus have a high probability of regressing with substantial or curative AVM therapy.


2020 ◽  
pp. neurintsurg-2020-016450
Author(s):  
Humain Baharvahdat ◽  
Raphaël Blanc ◽  
Robert Fahed ◽  
Ashkan Pooyan ◽  
Ashkan Mowla ◽  
...  

BackgroundBecause Spetzler–Martin (SM) grade III brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) constitute a heterogeneous group of lesions with various combination of sizes, eloquence, and venous drainage patterns, their management is usually challenging. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical/imaging outcomes and the procedural safety of endovascular approach as the main treatment for the cure of SM grade III bAVMs.MethodsIn this retrospective study, prospectively collected data of SM grade III bAVMs treated by endovascular techniques between 2010 and 2018 at our hospital were reviewed. Patients older than 16 years with angiographic follow-up of at least 6 months after endovascular treatment were entered in the study. The patients had a mean follow-up of 12 months. The data were assessed for clinical outcome (modified Rankin Scale), permanent neurological deficit, post-operative complications, and optimal imaging outcome, defined by complete exclusion of AVM. The independent predictive variables of poor outcome or hemorrhagic complication were assessed using binary logistic regression.ResultsSixty-five patients with 65 AVMs were included in the study. Mean age of the patients was 40.0±14.4. Most common presentation was hemorrhage (61.5%). The patients underwent one to eight endovascular procedures (median=2). Mean nidus diameter was 30.2±13.0. A complete obliteration of AVM was achieved in 57 patients (87.7%). Post-procedure significant hemorrhagic and ischemic complications were seen in 13 (20%) and five (7.7%) patients respectively, leading to five (7.7%) transient and four (6.2%) permanent neurological deficits. Eight patients (12.3%) experienced worsening of mRS after embolization. Ten patients (15.4%) had poor outcome (mRS 3–5) at follow-up and two (3%) died.ConclusionsEndovascular treatment can achieve a high rate of complete exclusion of grade III AVM but may be associated (as in other treatment modalities) with significant important complications.Clinical trial registration numberNCT02879071.


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