Treatment strategies in cavernomas of the brain and spine

Abstract

The management of brain and spinal cavernomas includes two main options: (i) conservative treatment or (ii) surgical removal. Clinical experience related to cavernoma patients falls into four major categories: the surgical or conservative treatment of incidental or symptomatic cavernomas. In many patients, cavernomas exist as fairly benign lesions, frequently remaining clinically silent for life. This observation argues against the active treatment of all cavernoma patients; rather for the meticulous selection of only those more likely to benefit from surgery. Thus, the most crucial task in successful management of cavernomas is appropriate patient selection. In this review, we present our institutional experience on cavernoma management supplemented with data from the literature.