Jeffrey E. Pearce

Dural arteriovenous malformations and intracranial hemorrhage.

Intracranial hemorrhage is seen less frequently with dural than with intraparenchymal arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). We report 6 cases of intracranial hemorrhage among our past 10 patients with dural AVMs. A literature search provided 27 other cases of intracranial hemorrhage from a total of 213 reported dural AVMs. Although hemorrhage was relatively infrequent (7.5%) with dural AVMs located primarily within a major venous sinus, bleeding episodes occurred in 20 of the 39 (51%) cases of malformation outside a major sinus. There was primary leptomeningeal venous drainage in all cases with hemorrhage, and a large variceal dilatation was seen in 14 cases (42%). Dural AVMs located outside a major sinus are uncommon, and they have a propensity for serious intracranial hemorrhage.

Ischemic complications after combined internal carotid artery occlusion and extracranial-intracranial anastomosis

Seven of 120 aneurysm patients admitted to the Henry Ford Hospital from October 1978 to August 1981 had giant internal carotid artery aneurysms that were treated by a combined internal carotid artery occlusion and extracranial-intracranial anastomosis. Three of these patients developed postoperative ischemic complications during the progressive closure of the carotid artery. These complications included the transient onset of syncope, hemiparesis, hemisensory deficits, and dysphasia. These complications resolved after the clamp was reopened and/or intravenous heparin was given. The possible mechanisms involved in the development of ischemia included the development of emboli at the occlusion site or inadequate flow originating from the area of the anastomosis. Prolonged occlusion of the vessel over a 7- to 10-day course with concurrent administration of intravenous heparin is recommended.

Complications of cerebral revascularization with autogenous vein grafts.

Autogenous veins were used for cerebral revascularization 29 times. There were 17 long grafts to the cortex and 12 shorter grafts for reconstruction of cervical vessels. Of the long cortical grafts, 5 occluded and 3 patients developed intracerebral hemorrhage. With the shorter grafts, all remained patent and there were no hemorrhagic complications. A combination of a relatively low flow rate and endothelial damage in the graft was thought to be largely responsible for early graft failure. Revascularization of an infarct and hypertension were implicated in cases with intracerebral hemorrhage.

Surgical correction of lesions affecting the second portion of the vertebral artery.

Substantial controversy has surrounded the diagnosis and management of vertebrobasilar ischemic events, with no consensus on the value of medical or surgical treatment of patients symptomatic with brain stem ischemia who have angiographically proven vertebral artery lesions. This report presents our experience with the surgical treatment of 12 of 88 patients with angiographically verified lesions in the vertebral artery who were symptomatic for 1 to 12 months before their evaluation. None experienced symptomatic relief with antiplatelet agents, nor did the administration of anticoagulants in 4 of the patients provide any benefit. The lesions included bilateral vertebral artery occlusion with distal reconstitution through muscular collaterals in 6 patients, unilateral vertebral artery hypoplasia with contralateral long-tailed lesions from the vertebral artery origin to C-5 in 3 patients, and severe bilateral vertebral artery origin lesions extending beyond the C-5 level in 3 patients. A vertebral endarterectomy and vertebral-carotid transposition in the second portion of the artery were successfully used to reestablish flow and obtain symptomatic relief in 10 of the 12 cases; 1 of these procedures had to be redone because of a persistent stenosis at C-4. Another patient had a saphenous vein graft from the common carotid to the vertebral artery at C-5. The remaining patient had an anastomosis of the distal external carotid to the vertebral artery at C-3, but this failed and an anastomosis of the occipital artery to the anterior inferior cerebellar artery had to be completed to reestablish flow.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Endarterectomy of the vertebral artery from C2 to posterior inferior cerebellar artery intracranially

A new technical approach to endarterectomy of the vertebral artery at the cranial cervical junction is discussed. A patient had symptoms of vertebrobasilar insufficiency on clinical examination. Angiography demonstrated a stenotic plaque in the vertebral artery at the level of C1, and an additional tandem lesion at the origin of the posterior inferior cerebellar artery. He underwent vertebral endarterectomy and was symptomatically improved postoperatively. The surgical approach used and possible alternatives will be discussed in detail.

Tandem Bypass: Occipital Artery to Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery Side-to-Side Anastomosis and Occipital Artery to Anterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery End-to-Side Anastomosis—a Case Report

&NA; A unique example of posterior fossa revascularization is presented. A tandem bypass was performed by anastomosing the midoccipital artery to the posterior inferior cerebellar artery in a side‐to‐side fashion followed by an anastomosis of the distal occipital artery to the anterior inferior cerebellar artery in an end‐to‐side fashion. The operation was designed to revascularize two separate vascular territories that were isolated in a patient thought to have an extremely compromised posterior circulation. The patient is doing well and is asymptomatic 3 years postoperatively.

Acute inflammation and endothelial injury in vein grafts.

An experimental study of autogenous vein graft morphology 6 hours after arterial implantation was performed in dogs. The animals were divided into five groups. The first control group had veins harvested and stored but not implanted. The endothelium showed excellent preservation by routine histology and scanning electron microscopy. The second control group had grafts implanted and flow decreased to 30 to 50 ml/minute. There was a massive acute inflammatory response with subendothelial and transmural accumulation of neutrophils causing widespread endothelial sloughing. A third group had grafts implanted, but flow was not reduced (mean, 170 ml/minute). Although an inflammatory response was also present, it was much less severe than in the low flow grafts and the endothelium remained grossly intact. Two other groups had low flow grafts implanted, but were treated with either lidocaine or steroids. Lidocaine had no effect on the inflammatory response or endothelial injury. High doses of alpha-methylprednisolone succinate almost completely prevented both endothelial loss and inflammatory infiltration. This study supports the premise that an acute inflammatory response can initiate endothelial injury after autogenous grafting, an effect that is much more prominent in low flow than high flow grafts. It also demonstrated that steroids can almost totally suppress the injury during the initial 6 hours after implantation.

Combined reconstruction of the vertebral and carotid artery in one single procedure.

Patients suffering from vertebrobasilar insufficiency frequently have multiple areas of involvement in the extracranial circulation. Eight patients admitted to Henry Ford Hospital had symptoms suggestive of vertebrobasilar insufficiency and angiograms showing multiple abnormalities. A combined operation that reconstructed the carotid and vertebral circulations in one single procedure was completed in all patients with minimal morbidity and no mortality. The surgical procedure is described in detail.

The surgical management of vertebrobasilar insufficiency

SummaryVertebrobasilar insufficiency may result from structural lesions anywhere along the vertebrobasilar system. Recently developed techniques in angiography and microsurgery have made the vertebrobasilar system more accessible to surgical therapy. The syndrome of vertebrobasilar insufficiency is discussed, and our experience with the surgical treatment of lesions from the vertebral origin to the distal basilar region is reviewed.

Revascularization of the Brain Stem: Anatomical Basis, Clinical Results and Long-Term Angiographic Follow-Up — Ten Years Experience

The first report of vertebral basilar bypass surgery appeared in 1975 with an occipital artery (OA) to posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) bypass procedure (Ausman et al. 1976). Then the OA to anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) (Ausman et al. 1981) and superficial temporal artery (STA) to superior cerebellar artery (SCA) bypass (Ausman et al. 1979) were introduced to provide additional blood flow to presumed hemodynamically compromised areas of the brain stem. The principle followed was to allow the revascularization of the vertebral basilar arterial system distal to a stenotic or an occlusive lesion. Thus, the OA-PICA bypass was used for stenosis or occlusions in the vertebral artery (VA) proximal to PICA. The OA-AICA bypass was utilized for stenotic or occlusive lesions proximal to AICA and the STASCA anastomosis for lesions proximal to SCA. We are reporting the results of 10 years of experience with vertebral basilar revascularization in 50 patients.