Stereotactic radiofrequency thermocoagulation for giant hypothalamic hamartoma

OBJECTIVE The authors undertook this study to validate the feasibility and safety of stereotactic radiofrequency thermocoagulation (SRT) for the surgical treatment of giant hypothalamic hamartoma (HH). METHODS Of the 109 patients who underwent SRT for hypothalamic hamartoma (HH) at the authors' institution between 1997 and 2013, 16 patients (9 female, 7 male) had giant HHs (maximum diameter ≥ 30 mm). The clinical records of these 16 patients were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS The patients' age at first SRT ranged from 1 to 22 years (median 5 years). The maximum diameter of their HHs was 30–80 mm (mean 38.5 mm). Eleven HHs had bilateral attachments to the hypothalamus. All patients had gelastic seizures (GS), and 12 had types of seizures other than GS. Some of these patients also had mental retardation (n = 10, 62.5%), behavioral disorders (n = 8, 50.0%), and precocious puberty (n = 11, 68.8%). A total of 22 SRT procedures were performed; 5 patients underwent repeat SRT procedures. There was no mortali...