The feeding vessels of meningioma:an analysis of 35 cases

Objective To study the diagnostic value of digital subtraction angiography(DSA) in evaluating the feeding vessels of meningioma and in making the therapeutic schedule.Methods Thirty five patients with meningioma,who had complete DSA and surgical information and were encountered in our hospital during the period of July 2005 to June 2010,were enrolled in this study.The clinical data,the feeding vessels of the tumor and the DSA features after embolization therapy were analyzed.The surgical findings were taken as the gold standard.Results The origin of tumor-feeding arteries detected on DSA was consistent with that confirmed by surgery in 91% patients.With respect to the shift degree of adjacent larger vessels and the involvement of drain veins and venous sinus,the coincidence rate between DSA and surgery was 100%.General agreement concerning the blood supply degree was obtained in 14 patients,while the blood supply was underestimated in 8 patients,with a coincidence rate of 64%.Of 14 patients with rich blood supply,dangerous anastomosis was present in two,and pre-operative adjuvant embolization was employed in 12.The blood loss during operation was well controlled and the ideal excision extent was accomplished.Conclusion DSA can accurately evaluate the blood supply of meningioma and preoperative embolization can be carried out,which is of great significance for making surgical program preoperatively and for controlling the blood loss during the intervention.DSA have some limitation in confirming the origin of the tumor-feeding artery and in evaluating the abundance of blood supply.The device and technology together with the use of other technical facilities are steadily developing,even though DSA is still one of important means for the diagnosis and preoperative treatment of meningioma.