Leksell Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Cavernous Malformations.

Cavernous malformations (CM) represent a distinct subgroup of brain vascular malformations that are characterized by small sinusoidal vascular channels with hyaline degeneration and old blood pigments. Because of the increasing availability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) they are detected much more frequently in the present era. CM may be solitary or found in the context of a familial variant that results in an increasing number of CM developing as the patient ages. Because of the variable risk of subacute bleeding, their management options have been controversial. The annual risk of an incidentally detected CM bleeding is <0.5% each year. Leksell radiosurgery is used for a subgroup of patients who have repeatedly bled. In general, CM best considered for stereotactic radiosurgery are deep seated and do not pre-sent to a pial or ependymal surface where microsurgical corridors for removal are feasible. When radiosurgery is used for patients at high risk for both re-bleeding as well as microsurgical resection, the risk of bleeding can be reduced from as high as 33% each year to <0.5% each year after a 2-year latency interval. The target lies within the hemosiderin rim detected during the MRI that is part of planning. Marginal doses are significantly less than those used for angiographically visible arteriovenous malformations.