Treatment and outcome of children with cerebral cavernomas: a survey on 32 patients

Abstract

We prospectively followed-up 32 pediatric patients with cerebral cavernomas (CCs) to better define surgical indications in this population. Three groups of patients were identified: (a) children with macrohemorrhage (21 patients, 65.6%), (b) children with localized or diffuse headache (6 patients, 18.8%) and (c) children with epilepsy (5 patients, 15.6%). Surgery was performed in 28 out of the 32 (87.5%) subjects. New transient post-operative neurological deficits were observed in two children. One child developed a post-operative hematoma. At a median follow-up of 4 years (range 1-11 years), 22 out of the 28 (78.6%) operated patients were in good conditions. All operated subjects with epilepsy were seizure-free. We confirm the high risk of macrohemorrhage in pediatric CCs. Surgery is mostly recommended in accessible cavernomas, except for small, asymptomatic deep-seated CCs or for punctuate lesions without bleeding signs.