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Spinal arteriovenous(AV) shunt disease is rare, although many neurosurgeons may encounter patients with the disease. Recently, the pathological findings and classification of spinal AV shunt disease have been well described. The fundamental treatment of spinal AV shunt disease involves interruption of the shunt, which is achieved by endovascular treatment or direct surgery. Development in diagnostic imaging and technology for endovascular treatment has enabled us to treat many cases. Recently, several multicenter studies on spinal AV shunt diseases revealed that the treatment outcomes of direct surgery were better than those of endovascular treatment. However, in our institute, endovascular treatment is the first line because it is less invasiveness. Although the success and complication rates of endovascular treatment are inferior to those of direct surgery, endovascular treatment remains a therapeutic option for patients with spinal AV shunt disease if it could achieve low complication rates and direct surgery could be performed afterward to rescue the patient. In this article, we elaborate on this disease, surgical indications, limitations of endovascular treatment, and tips for direct surgery.

Preoperative embolization(POE)of intracranial meningioma is performed worldwide. Although clear evidence of the effectiveness of POE has not been reported in the literature, the technique plays an important role in open surgery, especially for large or skull base meningiomas. The purposes of embolization include: 1)induction of tumor necrosis, resulting in a safer operation, 2)reduction in intraoperative bleeding, and 3)decrease in operative time. Knowledge of the functional vascular anatomy, embolic materials, and endovascular techniques is paramount to ensure safe embolization. Our standard procedure is as follows: 1)embolization is performed several days before open surgery; 2)in cases with strong peritumoral edema, steroid administration or embolization may be performed immediately prior to surgery; 3)patients undergo the procedure under local anesthesia; 4)the microcatheter is inserted as close as possible to the tumor; 5)particulate emboli are the first-line material; 6)embolization is occasionally performed with N-butyl cyanoacrylate(NBCA)glue; and 7)if possible, additional proximal feeder occlusion with coils is performed. The JR-NET study previous showed the situation regarding intracranial tumor embolization in Japan. Endovascular neurosurgeons should fully discuss the indications and strategies for POE with tumor neurosurgeons to ensure safe and effective procedures.

The superior petrosal sinus and petrosal vein are important drainage routes for the posterior cranial fossa, with some variations and collateral vessels. An anterolateral-type tentorial dural arteriovenous fistula, which occurs around the petrosal vein, often develops aggressive symptoms due to venous reflux to the brainstem and cerebellum. Neuroendovascular treatment of this fistula is usually challenging because transarterial embolization has a high risk and indications for transvenous embolization are limited. In the cavernous sinus and transverse sinus/sigmoid sinus dural arteriovenous fistulas, venous reflux to the petrosal vein is dangerous, and a treatment strategy with the occlusion of the petrosal vein is indispensable. Furthermore, attention should be paid to venous approaches through the superior petrosal sinus.

Several studies have reported the importance of preoperative simulations. This report describes the methods and utility of neuroendovascular treatment using a three-dimensional(3D)-printed hollow cerebral aneurysm model. This model was created using a stereolithography apparatus-type 3D printer with digital imaging and communications in medicine data from 3D digital subtraction angiograms. The 3D model was used to perform preoperative simulations of microcatheter placement in aneurysms, microguidewire manipulation, and stent deployment. We performed each simulated procedure during surgery. The hollow cerebral aneurysm 3D model can also be used as a training model for surgical trainees. Preoperative simulation using a high-precision hollow cerebral aneurysm model created using 3D printers enables the discussion of specific treatment strategies for each case, including new devices and device sizes, and is expected to develop into "tailor-made medicine" in the future, contributing to safe and reliable treatment implementation.

Researchers have been trying to visualize fine angioarchitecture in cerebrospinal vascular lesions and the positional relationship between vascular lesions and surrounding structures. The aim of this article was to introduce the usefulness of imaging in visualizing the microvascular anatomy in cerebrospinal vascular lesions, such as aneurysm, arterial dissection, arteriovenous malformation, dural arteriovenous fistula(AVF), spinal dural and epidural AVF, and craniocervical junction AVF. For the imaging modality, we used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging, three-dimensional rotational angiography(3D-RA), slab maximum intensity projection image from 3D-RA, cone-beam computed tomography, and fusion imaging. If fully exploited, imaging can contribute to clinical analysis and surgical treatment and be an essential tool for achieving maximum therapeutic effect without complications.

In this paper, we will discuss the relationship between neuroendovascular therapy and infection in two parts: the risk of infectious complications in neuroendovascular therapy and neuroendovascular therapy for infectious diseases. The risk of infectious complications associated with neuroendovascular therapy is rare but should not be ignored. We must comply with clean procedures and consider prophylactic antibiotic administration in selected cases. Neuroendovascular therapy for infectious diseases is a high-risk treatment, and a safer treatment strategy should be considered for each case.

CT angiography(CTA)plays a crucial role in the diagnosis of intracerebral hemorrhage(ICH). An 85-year-old woman presented with a disturbance of consciousness and right hemiparesis. Non-contrast CT of the brain revealed intracerebral hemorrhage in the left thalamus spreading to the internal capsule, corona radiata, and midbrain and a "swirl sign." CTA revealed no vascular anomaly. The early and delayed CTA phases revealed the"spot sign" and "leakage sign," respectively. Non-contrast CT three hours after the initial CT showed the enlargement of the hematoma. After the detection of ICH by initial non-contrast CT, CTA should be performed to differentiate between the causes of secondary ICH and detect the imaging markers of hematoma expansion or rebleeding. Previous studies have demonstrated that the "spot sign" detected by CTA is a valid imaging marker for hematoma expansion. In this article, the differential diagnosis of ICH and the detection of the imaging markers of hematoma expansion using non-contrast CT and CTA have been discussed.

We herein report a case of ruptured arterio-venous malformation(AVM)detected using three-dimensional digital subtraction angiography(3DDSA)fusion images and successfully treated with target embolization for pseudoaneurysm. A 50-year-old man with a history of AVM was admitted to our department for the treatment of ruptured high-grade AVM in the right parietal lobe. Although a bleeding point was not evident on DSA, the patient had re-rupture in the right ventricle, one month after admission. Chronological 3DDSA fusion images generated from 3DDSA images taken on admission and after re-rupture revealed a newly visualized intranidal pseudoaneurysm near a hematoma. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging showed vessel wall enhancement along the posterior horn of the right ventricle;this enhancement corresponded to the location of the pseudoaneurysm. We planned target embolization for the intranidal pseudoaneurysm to prevent re-bleeding. The origin of the feeder was so steep that a microcatheter could not be advanced deeply, and embolization with 20% n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate resulted in proximal occlusion. Follow-up angiography 1 week after embolization showed complete disappearance of the pseudoaneurysm, and the patient had no recurrence of aneurysm until one year.

Surgical resection of solid cerebellar hemangioblastomas can be challenging because of the profuse blood supply and tight space. We report two cases of solid cerebellar hemangioblastomas treated via surgical resection with the aid of preoperative endovascular embolization on the day of surgery. Case 1: A 36-year-old woman presented with a two-month history of headache and vomiting. Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)revealed a right cerebellar solid mass, mild hydrocephalus, and apparent peritumoral edema. Angiogram showed a highly vascularized mass, three feeding arteries from the superior cerebellar artery(SCA), and a dilated vein draining into the confluence. We performed preoperative embolization of the three feeders with 15% n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate(NBCA). Final angiogram showed an absence of tumor staining. Tumor resection was performed on the same day, and gross total resection was achieved with no complications. Case 2: A 36-year-old man presented with a four-month history of headache and numbness in the left upper extremity. MRI revealed a right cerebellar solid mass with peritumoral edema. Angiogram showed a highly vascularized mass with two feeding arteries from the right SCA, one from the left posterior inferior cerebellar artery(PICA), and a dilated vein draining into the confluence. Preoperative embolization was performed with 15% NBCA, and complete devascularization was achieved. Tumor resection was performed on the same day, and gross total resection was achieved with no complications. In conclusion, preoperative embolization with NBCA on the day of surgery is a safe and effective adjunctive treatment for solid cerebellar hemangioblastoma.

Background: Traumatic vertebral arteriovenous fistula (TVAVF) is an uncommon disease that occurs after traumatic injury. Here we report a case of TVAVF presenting with cervical bruit successfully treated by internal trapping using coils., Case Presentation: A 66-year-old man was transferred to our hospital after falling into a ditch. Initial CT revealed a C2 fracture into the right transverse foramen, and the patient had been treated with conservative management. A vascular abnormality was suspected because the patient exhibited cervical bruit on admission. CT angiography revealed right TVAVF at the V2 segment of the right vertebral artery (VA) near the C2 fracture. Digital subtraction angiography also revealed right TVAVF between the V2 segment of the right VA and the vertebral venous plexus, draining into the right internal jugular vein and the deep cervical vein as well as the intracranial venous system. The fistula was also opacified by retrograde flow from the contralateral VA through the union, while the flow in the basilar artery was antegrade. The patient was diagnosed with TVAVF with large transection of the right VA, and underwent endovascular treatment with internal trapping of the right VA using coils starting distal to the transection and proceeding in a proximal direction. After treatment, the right VAVF and right VA were completely occluded. The patient achieved clinical symptom resolution with no neurological deficits., Conclusion: Endovascular treatment with internal trapping of the VA using coils is safe and effective against TVAVF.

Aneurysms at the vertebrobasilar junction are often found with basilar artery(BA)fenestration. We encountered 10 consecutive cases of aneurysms associated with BA fenestration. The purpose of this study is to describe the frequency, clinical features, and outcome of these aneurysms treated by endovascular procedure. The incidence of these aneurysms in our series was 1.9%. All aneurysms were successfully treated by coil embolization. Half of them were treated by using simple technique, and the other half were treated by using adjunctive techniques such as balloon remodeling technique. 70% of these cases were ruptured, and all except one case showed good recovery at the time of discharge. We found 63 reported cases of this aneurysm in the literature between 2000 and 2012. 57 out of 63 aneurysms were treated by endovascular means with good clinical results. The usefulness of endovascular procedure is reported to be superior to surgical clipping because of their anatomical complexity and the difficulty of surgical exposure for clipping. We conclude that outcome of these aneurysms is favorable and endovascular procedure has become their standard treatment for these aneurysms.

We report a rare case of a paraspinal arteriovenous fistula(AVF)treated by combined transarterial and transvenous embolization(TAE/TVE). A 72-year-old woman was admitted after a traffic accident. Abdominal enhanced CT disclosed pre-existing large varices at the L3-L4 level in the right retroperitoneum with multiple feeding arteries and veins draining into the extradural venous plexus in the spinal canal. The lesion was diagnosed as a paraspinal AVF. Four days later, the patient went into a state of shock. Emergency abdominal CT showed retroperitoneal hemorrhage due to rupture of the varix. TAE of the feeders from the right L1-L4 arteries was performed, and rebleeding from the varix was prevented. Three months later, follow-up CTA showed regrowth of the AVF, and TVE was performed. Two microcatheters were navigated transvenously into the varix, and detachable coils were delivered into the small compartment just downstream to the shunts, leading to complete obliteration. We conclude that transarterial flow reduction followed by occlusion of the venous side of the shunts is effective to achieve cure of a complex and high-flow paraspinal AVF.

Recent advances in endovascular techniques greatly improved the ability to treat complex cerebral aneurysms. However, patients with wide-necked cerebral aneurysms have posed a special challenge to conventional endovascular therapy. We report a novel method of embolizing wide-necked basilar apex aneurysms by employing a Y-configuration, double stent technique. A 40-year-old woman with a partially thrombosed basilar apex aneurysm transferred to our hospital after diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Cerebral angiography revealed a wide-necked aneurysm which neck was incorporating the origins of both the posterior cerebral arteries. In treatment procedure, a microcatheter was inserted into the aneurysm followed by coiling of the upper half of the dome. Next, the first stent was deployed in the right P2 segment extending down to the mid basilar artery and the second stent was then deployed with half of the stent in the left P2 and the other half within the lumen of the previously placed stent. Finally, the microcatheter was withdrawn near the neck, and the rest of the aneurysmal dome was packed by additional coils. The result was favorable. Successful coil embolization of a wide-necked bifurcation aneurysm can be achieved by using the double stenting Y-configuration in this case. This result continues to provide highly encouraging support of this novel technique to treat a subset of complex, wide-necked aneurysms that until recently were considered poor candidates for endovascular therapies.

The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of endovascular treatment of basilar (BA) tip aneurysms. The authors performed a retrospective analysis of 79 aneurysms of the BA tip that had been treated using endovascular coil embolization for the last 11 years. Fifty-six patients were women, and 23 were men. The average age of the patients was 63.7 years (range, 35-83 year). The average maximum diameter of the aneurysms was 8.0 mm (range, 2-30 mm). Forty-seven patients (60%) presented with acute subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), 1 patient (1%) had an unruptured aneurysm with mass effect, and 31 patients (39%) had incidental aneurysms. Immediate anatomic outcomes demonstrated complete occlusion (CO) in 53 aneurysms (67%), residual neck (RN) in 22 aneurysms (28%), and residual aneurysm (RA) in 4 aneurysms (5%). One patient died from rebleeding 6 hours after the embolization. Another patient suffered from rebleeding 6 years after the initial embolization, and was successfully treated with re-embolization. Four patients suffered from asymptomatic P1 occlusion. No symptomatic complication was observed in the unruptured group. Retreatment was performed in 5 patients, including 4 broad-neck large ruptured aneurysms and 1 giant thrombosed aneurysm. Angiographic and clinical results have been improving in recent cases in this study. Technical advances such as highly compliant balloon remodeling microcatheter and 3D-reconstructed digital angiography contributed to this improvement. Our results indicate that endovascular treatment of BA tip aneurysm is safe and effective. The long-term stability after coil embolization is still a matter of concern. Further improvement is expected.

Introduction: Percutaneous transvenous embolization (TVE) using coils is a well-established treatment of cavernous sinus dural arteriovenous fistula (CSdAVF). However, it is sometimes difficult to achieve complete occlusion by coil embolization. In these two cases, we were able to obtain complete angiographic obliteration of the fistulas without complications by means of percutaneous TVE using n-butyl-cyanoacrylate (NBCA) after we failed when TVE using coils. Case 1: An 89-year-old woman presented with double vision. She was diagnosed as Barrow type D right CSdAVF draining only to the cortical vein. We treated the patient by TVE using coils, but the microcatheter was withdrawn before complete occlusion was attained. The repositioning of the microcatheter was difficult, so we used 30% NBCA for TVE, and obtained complete obliteration of the fistula. Case 2: An 87-year-old woman presented with right exophthalmos, and chemosis. She was diagnosed as Barrow type C right CSdAVF draining only to the right superior ophthalmic vein with very slow flow. We planned to treat her, using TVE with coils, but we could place only 3 coils and obtained only partial obliteration of the fistula. So we additionally used 25% NBCA for TVE, and obtained complete obliteration of the fistula., Conclusion: Compared to TVE using coils, TVE using NBCA gives rise to many problems, but, we can use NBCA as a second option if TVE using coils results in only partial obliteration as in these cases.

Neurofibroma is a representative external abnormality observed along with café-au-lait spots in association with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1). We encountered a case of NF-1 in which severe bleeding was observed from a neurofibroma under the scalp due to minor trauma. Only four similar cases have been reported in the past literature and we believed that it was a significantly rare case, and we herein report the case with bibliographical considerations. The subject was a 23-year-old male. He was gently hit on the right side of the head during work and the bruised site gradually became bloated. Even on the following day, the bloating continued and he also started feeling severe pain, and as a result, he visited our emergency department. A head CT scan revealed a subcutaneous high-density area from the right-frontal area of the head to the side of the head that appeared to be a hematoma. The pain was severe and we therefore performed emergency surgery to remove the subcutaneous hematoma, but due to severe bleeding during the operation, we ultimately removed only part of the hematoma. However, because the pain was relieved, he was discharged from the hospital and he subsequently stopped visiting the hospital regularly. Three years later, he visited our department again with similar head bloating due to a mild head bruise. When surgery was performed again, an obvious neoplastic lesion was observed along with the subcutaneous hematoma. The pathological findings suggested it was a neurofibroma but no malignant findings were observed.