Surgical treatment of multiple cerebral cavernous malformations combined with epilepsy in 15 cases

Objective To summarize the surgical treatment effect on patients who suffered from multiple cerebral cavernous malformations and epilepsy. Methods The data of 15 patients who underwent operation for multiple cerebral cavernou malformations and epilepsy were retrospectively analyzed. Results After operation, 13 patients had no seizures from operation finished to follow-up and 2 patients experienced epilepsy recurrence after operation. One patient appeared the muscle force of contralateral limbs decreasing after the resection of cavernous malformation in the frontal lobe, and then was gradually rehabilitated after treatment. No patient died after the operation. During the follow-up period of 27.5 months on average (6-66 months), no patient had a recurrence of cavernous malformations. Conclusions Patients with cerebral multiple cavernous malformations are prone to be complicated by epilepsy. According to the location of the cavernous malformation and intraoperative electrophysiological monitoring, we can effectively treat the multiple cerebral cavernous malformations complicated by epilepsy by individualized epileptogenic lesion resection, cortical thermal ablation and enlarged resection of the hippocampus amygdala. Key words: Cavernous malformation; Seizures; Microsurgery