Long Follow-Up of Radiosurgery for Brainstem Cavernoma.

Abstract

There is a relative paucity of long-term follow-up of treatment of brainstem cavernous angiomas. This has led to uncertainty and a lack of consensus regarding optimum therapy, especially radiosurgery. Report of a single case with a 24-year follow-up. This patient was minimally symptomatic before her radiosurgery procedure. She developed an acute complication, from which she incompletely recovered. Two decades later she has become more symptomatic, with new deficits, and magnetic resonance imagings disclose progressive brainstem atrophy. Long-term follow-up of patients treated with radiosurgery is important.