Abstract
Clinical applications of a newly developed balloon catheter system were described.
Twenty-two procedures were performed in 19 patients; ten arteriovenous malformations (AVM), two meningiomas, two traumatic dural arteriovenous fistulas, one traumatic internal carotid-cavernous sinus fistula (TICCSF), one choroid plexus angioma, one cerebral basal ganglionic hemorrhage, and two cases with early venous filling shown by angiography. Their age ranged from 14 to 74 years. Selective or superselective angiography was performed in all of the cases, except in two with narrow and strongly curved carotid siphons. The balloon could be introduced into an artery of 1.5 mm in diameter on angiography. In two cases of AVM (Grade III and IV after Luessenhop), electroencephalography and regional cerebral blood flow were studied during temporary occlusion of the AVM main feeders in order to determine the operability. Based on these studies, the Grade III AVM was totally removed with success. The Grade IV AVM was treated with a detachable balloon alone. One case of TICCSF was successfully treated with a balloon. One complication, rupture of an artery due to overinflation of the balloon, was encountered in this series, but the patient was salvaged by urgent craniotomy.
The balloon catheter technique for cerebral endovascular navigation seems beneficial in neurosurgical and neuroradiological fields.
