The efficacy of surgical treatment of cerebral arteriovenous malformations in a single academic institution: a case series.

ABSTRACT

AIM: To report on patients who underwent surgical treatment of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) at our institution. METHODS: This retrospective single-center case series enrolled the patients who underwent surgical treatment of pial AVM at the Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Brno, between 2005 and 2019. The data are summarized as descriptive statistics presenting basic characteristics in all the patients and in sex or age subgroups. RESULTS: Fifty patients were enrolled. The majority of AVMs were of Spetzler-Martin grade II (n=27; 54%), localized supratentorialy (n=43; 86%), and half of AVMs were ruptured. A total resection was performed in 48 patients (96%), and a good overall outcome was achieved in 44 patients (88%). Surgery-associated morbidity was 2%, and the mortality rate was 0% due to meticulous selection of patients for surgical treatment. CONCLUSION: Microsurgery is an appropriate method of treatment for S-M grade I-III pial AVMs. Microsurgery may be used to treat the majority of small-nidus AVMs with a low mortality and morbidity, when precisely planned and performed by an expert vascular team. The meticulous selection of patients for surgical treatment is crucial.