Endovascular treatment of brain arteriovenous malformations involving the anterior cerebral artery

To date, at least to the best of our knowledge, there are only limited studies available on the endovascular treatment (EVT) of brain arteriovenous malformations (BAVMs) involving the anterior cerebral artery (ACA), thus termed ACA-BAVMs. The present study retrospectively examined 60 patients with ACA-BAVMs treated with EVT. The patients were aged between 10 and 72 years (mean age, 35.4±7.0 years) and included 28 females (46.7%, 28/60). The ACA-BAVMs were divided into three types: Type I BAVMs were those located below and in front of the corpus callosum genu, type II BAVMs were those located at the upper area of the corpus callosum from the genu to the anterior portion of corpus callosum body, and type III BAVMs were those located from the anterior portion of corpus callosum body to the splenium of the corpus callosum. There were 9 (15%, 9/60), 15 (25%, 15/60) and 36 (60%, 36/60) patients with type I, II and III ACA-BAVMs, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed that the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) tended to be involved in type II and III BAVMs. All patients were treated using EVT. During EVT, there were 3 cases of intraoperative bleeding (5%, 3/60), which tended to occur in type I and II ACA-BAVMs. The other 57 cases (95%, 57/60) had no complications and new neurological deficits. At the time of discharge, 48 (80%, 48/60) patients had a Glasgow Outcome Scale score of 5. During the clinical follow-up period, 47 patients were classified according to the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score; 39 (83%, 39/47) patients presented with an mRS score of 0. On the whole, the present study demonstrated that EVT may be a safe treatment for ACA-BAVMs.