Endovascular Embolization for Deep Basal Ganglia Arteriovenous Malformations

Abstract

We report our experience with basal ganglia AVM embolization and clinical outcomes after embolization. We retrospectively evaluated consecutive 15 patients with AVMs in the basal ganglia with respect to the endovascular treatment of these lesions. Treatment consisted of embolization and radiosurgery in combination. The angiographic follow-up after the last management was 24–36 months (mean 27 months). Clinical follow-up monitoring (range, 24–120 months, mean 76 months) was measured by the Modified Rankin Scale (mRS). The 15 patients studied had a mean age of 25.1 years at diagnosis, and 33.3% were male. Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) was the event leading to clinical detection in eight patients (53.3%), and 85.5% of these patients were left with hemiparesis. At presentation, eight (53.3%) patients bled a total of 11 times. Twenty-four embolization procedures (16 pedicles embolized) were performed in 15 patients with embolization as the adjunct to radiosurgery. There were three clinically significant complications. Excellent or good outcomes (mRS≤2) were observed in 13 (86.7%) patients. Unfavorable outcomes (mRS≤2) were 13.3% at follow-up, without mortality. Seven (46.7%) patients had complete AVM obliteration at follow-up. The risk of incurring a neurological deficit with basal ganglia AVM is high. Treatment of these patients is endovascular embolization with a combination of radiosurgery to prevent neurological injury from a spontaneous ICH.