Staged volume radiosurgery followed by microsurgical resection: a novel treatment for giant cerebral arteriovenous malformations: technical case report.

Abstract

We describe the successful treatment of symptomatic giant arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) using staged volume radiosurgery followed by microsurgical resection. A 57-year-old man presented with Spetzler-Martin Grade 5 AVMs, with persistent headaches and seizures. He had previously undergone eight attempts at AVM embolization and a craniotomy for attempted AVM resection; he had suffered four episodes of brain hemorrhaging but had made a good neurological recovery. Because of the persistent symptoms of the patient and his history of hemorrhaging, a treatment plan based on staged radiosurgical treatments of different portions of the AVMs (three sessions, spaced 6 mo apart), followed by delayed microsurgical removal of the much-reduced residual AVMs (3 years later), was undertaken. The patient did not suffer any additional hemorrhaging episodes, his AVMs were completely removed, and he has made a good recovery. Staged volume radiosurgery followed by microsurgical resection of the residual AVMs represents a novel treatment strategy for the management of Grade 5 AVMs that might be untreatable by any single treatment method used alone.