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Vascular anomalies in the head and neck area are usually rare diseases and pose a particular diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. They are divided into vascular tumours and vascular malformations. A distinction is made between benign tumours, such as infantile haemangioma, and rare malignant tumours, such as angiosarcoma. Vascular malformations are categorised as simple malformations, mixed malformations, large vessel anomalies and those associated with other anomalies. Treatment is interdisciplinary and various modalities are available. These include clinical observation, sclerotherapy, embolisation, ablative and coagulating procedures, surgical resection and systemic drug therapy. Treatment is challenging, as vascular anomalies in the head and neck region practically always affect function and aesthetics. A better understanding of the genetic and molecular biological basis of vascular anomalies has recently led to clinical research into targeted drug therapies. This article provides an up-to-date overview of the diagnosis, clinic and treatment of vascular anomalies in the head and neck region., Competing Interests: S.M. gibt folgendes an: Firma Medtronic GmbH, Meerbusch - Dozenten und Beratertätigkeit; Firma Olympus, Hamburg - Dozenten und Beratertätigkeit I.W. gibt an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht., (The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).)

Purpose: Flow diverters may occlude aneurysms by endoluminal reconstruction of the parent artery and by reducing the blood flow into the aneurysm. The purpose of this study was to assess the rate of intervention-associated complications and a 3-year-follow-up., Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 18 patients treated with Silk® FD. Only patients with unruptured aneurysms were included. Treatment indications were fusiform, giant or recurrent aneurysms. We considered all aneurysms to have a high likelihood of failure and/or recurrence when treated with conventional endovascular techniques., Results: Silk FD could directly be placed in a proper position across the whole length of the aneurysm in 16/18 patients. In one case an additional PTA was necessary. In another case the first FD could not be properly deployed. 17 of 18 aneurysms (95 %) were occluded immediately, in the mid-term follow-up after 6 months or 3 years after treatment. The overall complication rate including technical (11.1 %), acute or delayed thromboembolic complication without (11.1 %) or with (16.6 %) severe complications was documented., Conclusion: FD treatment is effective with a high occlusion rate of aneurysms also in long-term follow-up. In these complex aneurysms the complication rate is higher than in conventional stent-assisted coiling., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Purpose: To compare the depiction of brain metastases of bronchial carcinomas on susceptibility-weighted and contrast-enhanced images with 7 T and at 1.5 T MRI., Materials and Methods: Twelve patients with brain metastases of bronchial carcinomas underwent 7 T and 1.5 T MRI. Minimum intensity projections (MinIP) of a 1.5 T SWI sequence (voxel size = 0.9 x 0.9 x 2.0 mm(3)) were compared to 7 T SWI MinIPs (voxel size = 0.4 x 0.4 x 1.5 mm(3)). A T 1-w 3D MPRAGE at 1.5 T (voxel size = 1 x 1 x 1 mm(3) after double-dose (DD) gadoterate meglumine, Gd-DOTA) was compared to a 7 T MPRAGE sequence (voxel size = 0.7 x 0.7 x x 0.7 mm(3), single dose (SD) Gd-DOTA) in all patients, and to DD Gd-DOTA in 6 patients after a 10 minute delay. The number of intracranial microhemorrhages in SWI MinIPs and the number of contrast-enhancing metastases in MPRAGE images were compared in each patient grouped into three size ranges (< or = 2 mm, > 2 mm and < 6 mm, > or = 6 mm) by two radiologists in consensus., Results: In all 12 patients the 7 T SWI with spatially higher resolution allowed the identification of 87 versus 67 cerebral microhemorrhages at 1.5 T. 7 T T 1-w images after SD Gd-DOTA depicted 198 brain metastases versus 238 at 1.5 T after DD Gd-DOTA. After doubling the contrast dose in six patients, 4 additional brain metastases were identified at 7 T., Conclusion: Our preliminary results indicate that despite the higher spatial resolution the detection of brain metastases on 7 T MPRAGE images is almost equal to 1.5 T MPRAGE images. The 7 T SWI sequence with spatially higher resolution allowed the detection of 20 % more microhemorrhages in brain metastases compared to the 1.5 T SWI sequence., (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart, New York.)

Purpose: Our purpose was to present our experience regarding embolization of intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) with cortical venous reflux using Onyx, a non-adhesive liquid embolic agent., Materials and Methods: From January 2006 to December 2007, 16 patients (12 men and 4 women) with a mean age of 61 years (range 42 - 78) with an intracranial DAVF with cortical venous reflux underwent at least one transarterial embolization using Onyx. According to the Cognard classification, 2 lesions were grade V, 5 were grade IV, 6 were grade III, 2 were grade IIa+b, and 1 was grade IIb. The clinical presentation included 5 hemorrhagic deficits, 10 non-hemorrhagic manifestations, and 1 patient was asymptomatic., Results: Twenty-four embolization sessions were performed in 16 patients with an average of 3 arterial feeders (range 1 - 9) embolized per DAVF. Immediately after embolization, complete occlusion was achieved in 9/16 (56%) patients after the first session. Further postembolization surgical treatment was performed in 3 patients. Partial reperfusion occurred in 1 patient at the time of mean follow-up of 3.7 months (range 0 - 12). Treatment has been completed for 11/16 patients with angiographic cure in 10/11 (91%). An infratentorial bleeding complication related to embolization occurred in one patient with temporary worsening of the patient's gait disturbance. At the time of mean clinical follow-up of 4.5 months (range 0 - 12), no procedure-related permanent morbidity was added to our cohort., Conclusion: According to our experience, embolization of intracranial DAVFs with cortical venous drainage using Onyx is feasible with promising results, indicating stability at the time of mid-term follow-up. In very complex DAVFs additional embolization material might be necessary, and in some cases surgery is warranted.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the depiction of intracranial aneurysms by 3D time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) at 7 Tesla (T) with the clinical standard TOF MRA at 1.5 T and with digital subtraction angiography (DSA)., Materials and Methods: 7 T and 1.5 T TOF MRA images optimized for both field strengths were compared in ten patients with an unruptured intracranial aneurysm. Two blinded neuroradiologists independently rated the image quality of the dome, the neck, and the vessel of origin of all aneurysms in MRA source and maximum intensity projection (MIP) images. DSA was obtained in all subjects and served as reference standard. The mean values of image quality were compared by Wilcoxon signed rank test. In all patients the number and location of the aneurysms was confirmed by DSA., Results: Both readers identified twelve aneurysms in ten patients in 7 T, 1.5 T TOF MRA and DSA. The image quality of the aneurysm dome was rated higher in 8 of 12 aneurysms and the image quality of the aneurysm neck was superior in 9 of 12 aneurysms at 7 T TOF MRA compared to 1.5 T TOF MRA. The depiction of the parent vessel was graded almost equally by both readers., Conclusion: Our initial results indicate that image quality of intracranial aneurysms may benefit from the increased spatial resolution of 7 T TOF MRA compared with 1.5 T TOF MRA. Tailored scan protocols and optimized radiofrequency head coils are needed to further improve the image quality of 7 T TOF MRA.

We report the case of a 37-year-old man with a large unruptured broad-based aneurysm of the proximal basilar artery. Using an approach through the aneurysm sac across its inner wall we navigated a third generation, self-expandable, microstent system, Neuroform3, and deployed it along the aneurysm neck. Although this technique carries the risk for potential complications, it offers an alternative solution for the navigation of the NF3 stent in cases of unruptured wide-necked aneurysms.

Purpose: Detection of metastasis in the whole body is important for sufficient the staging of malignant melanoma. Sufficient imaging of the brain is particularly important. Although there is evidence that clinical examination is not sufficient for prediction of cerebral metastasis, MRI scan is not always regarded as reasonable in neurological asymptomatic patients. Therefore, we explored the incidence of cerebral metastasis in our patient population in relation to the stage of disease to estimate the reasonability of this examination., Materials and Methods: 120 consecutive patients with malignant melanoma were retrospectively evaluated. All patients were neurologically without pathological findings and received routine staging by cranial MRI. The incidence of brain metastasis was evaluated. The examination protocol consisted of an axial orientated flair and a T 1 sequence. Ten minutes after administration of contrast agent, a T 1 sequence in axial and coronal orientation was performed using the magnetization transfer technique. The type of melanoma, the thickness of the tumor, the Clark level, the location of the primary tumor, and the clinical stage were recorded from the clinical records., Results: 15 (12.5 %) of the 120 patients (clinical stage I: 27 patients, stage II: 29 patients, stage III: 25 patients, stage IV: 39 patients) had cerebral metastasis in MRI. 14 patients were in stage III or IV at this time. Consequently 21.8 % of the patients in stage III and IV had cerebral metastasis. Only one patient in stage IIc had cerebral metastasis., Conclusion: Cranial MRI of neurologically asymptomatic patients seems to be an important factor in the staging of melanoma especially in the advanced stage of this disease and in patients with a thick primary tumor.

Wegener's granulomatosis is an idiopathic, granulomatous disease with the potential for multiple head and neck manifestations (80 % of the patients). Sinonasal symptoms are observed in more than 60 % of the patients. Due to these facts the otorhinolaryngologist plays an essential role in the multidisciplinary team involved in establishing the diagnosis early, initiating immunosuppressive therapy and providing ongoing care. The treatment is based on medical therapy consisting of corticosteroids and immunosuppressive agents, whereas surgery is reserved for selected head and neck manifestations. By means of 3 patients presenting with distinct visual loss in consequence of orbital complications with sinonasal origin the course of disease and theoretical background are reviewed. In our patients Wegener's granulomatosis was diagnosed by histopathological examination and serological detection of ANCA, cANCA. The progression of the granulomatous process and an additional purulent inflammation in 2 cases led to a temporary amaurosis and in another case to a visual loss of 50 %. Immediate orbital decompression in combination with sufficient systemic immunosuppressive treatment relieved the compression of the optical nerve and preserved vision. We conclude that early orbital decompression either by external or endonasal approach and concomitant immunosuppression is necessary to determine or improve rapidly decreasing vision subsequent to high intraorbital pressure produced by a granulomatous process and inflammation.

In general, intracranial vascular malformations are divided into pial AVM, dural AV fistula, cavernoma and capillary telangiectasias. Developmental venous anomalies are sometimes thought to be vascular malformations. In fact, they are just a variant of venous drainage. In general, pial AVMs have a high risk of intracerebral bleeding. In dural AV fistulas, the individual bleeding risk can be effectively estimated by analyzing the venous drainage. Cavernomas have a low bleeding risk and the bleeding is rarely life-threatening. DVAs do not have any bleeding risk but 30 % are associated with cavernomas. Capillary telangiectasias also have no bleeding risk. Therefore, a radiological finding of an intracranial vascular malformation should not automatically elicit the reaction "time bomb in your head with a bleeding risk" but should be subjected to an analysis of the bleeding risk for the individual patient.

Purpose: Coil embolization of intracranial aneurysms is a radiographic interventional procedure associated with relatively high radiation exposure for the patient and staff. Modern angiographic fluoroscopy systems have a high potential for reducing radiation exposure of a wide bandwidth (e. g. automatic beam filtering, pulsed fluoroscopy, characteristic curve selection). The purpose of this study was to determine how those features could be implemented in the daily routine., Material and Methods: The radiation exposure for the patient and staff was measured during 60 coiling procedures and compared to the mean values before changing the parameters., Results: Implementation of those dose-reducing features during complex radiographic procedures is limited for various reasons. A 35 % dose reduction during coil embolization was able to be achieved in our trial., Conclusions: From an economic point of view, some resources implemented by the manufacturer and included in the prime cost of the system are not being fully utilized. With some effort, instruction and further education of the staff could lead to a further reduction in radiation exposure without losing too much image quality.

Purpose: To evaluate mid-term clinical and angiographic results after using a self-expanding neurovascular stent and coils for the management of broad-based intracranial aneurysms., Methods: During the period from August 2001 to October 2004 we treated a total of 42 patients with 44 aneurysms using a self-expandable stent. To date we have data on more than 6 months of follow-up in 25 patients with 26 aneurysms. Aneurysm occlusion was divided into the following categories: 100 % (complete), 95-99 % (subtotal), and < 95 % (incomplete)., Results: In 15 aneurysms complete occlusion, in 11 aneurysms subtotal occlusion was initially achieved. Control DSA showed progressive thrombosis in seven aneurysms leading to total occlusion in another 4 aneurysms. Three recanalizations were observed in one large and two giant ICA aneurysms. No vessel occlusion occurred. One vessel stenosis of the stented segment was noted, but it was not clinically relevant. One patient experienced a small embolic infarction after stopping antiplatelet medication. No persistent deterioration of the clinical status occurred., Conclusion: Combining a stent with coils seems to be an acceptable treatment option for broad-based intracranial aneurysms. As this special subgroup of treated aneurysms includes only those with an unfavourable geometry, the results are extremely promising.

A case is presented with secondary trigeminal neuralgia (TN) caused by an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) of the cerebellopontine cistern, which was detected by radiological work-up for planned microvascular decompression. An AVM surrounding the trigeminal nerve was demonstrated on thin-slice heavily T (2)-weighted 3D-sequence on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and confirmed by angiography. The first therapeutic step was endovascular embolization with complete obliteration of the AVM and cessation of pain. Nevertheless surgical excision was performed in order to remove compressive vessels and to prevent a recurrence of pain.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the procedural risk of treating acute ruptured aneurysms with a stent-coil combination., Material and Methods: Between August 2001 and January 2004 we treated nine acute subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients with a combination of stents and platinum coils., Results: Six aneurysms were 100% eliminated; the residual three aneurysms had a 95% to 99% occlusion. A transient thrombosis in the stent in one patient could be recanalized by intravenous application of ReoPro. In another patient an occlusive vasospasm at the distal end of the stent was successfully treated with intraarterial Nimotop. Neurological complications occurred in none of the patients., Conclusion: In broad-based aneurysms which cannot be clipped or in which any neurosurgical treatment presents an unacceptably high risk (posterior circulation and paraophthalmic aneurysms), treatment using a combination of stent and platinum coils might be an option even in the acute phase of an SAH. Platelet aggregation can be treated with Aspirin and Plavix after placement of the first coil, vasospasms with intraarterial Nimotop, and acute stent thrombosis with GP IIa/IIIb-antagonists.

Objective: To describe the clinical results in patients with aneurysms of the vertebral artery and posterior inferior cerebellar artery complex (VA-PICA) treated by endovascular embolization or surgically in cases considered untreatable by endovascular methods., Patients and Methods: During a 5-year-period a total of 28 patients with a VA-PICA complex aneurysm out of 600 patients received definitive treatment, 19 patients by endovascular embolization and 9 patients surgically. Mean age was 54 years (range 9-75 years). Clinical data, intraoperative observations and procedural complications were evaluated. The mean follow-up was 9 months., Results: Hunt-Hess (HH) grades were HH 0-II in 10 patients (35.7 %), HH III in 6 patients (21.4 %) and HH IV + V in 12 patients (42.9 %). Aneurysm size ranged from 2 to 40 mm (mean size 5.5 mm). Aneurysm configuration was saccular 18, fusiform 7 and multilobed 3. Complete occlusion was achieved in all cases. Overall 67.9 % (n = 19) showed a favorable outcome (Glasgow Outcome Score IV + V). Overall procedure-related rate for permanent morbidity and mortality was 3.6 % (n = 1) and 3.6 % (n = 1), respectively. Predictive factors of clinical outcome were the initial clinical HH grade and the Fisher grade., Conclusion: Endovascular embolization is an effective method for the treatment of VA-PICA aneurysms. Surgical clipping is still an alternative and should be considered for "uncoilable" lesions. Outcomes showed a close correlation to the initial clinical state and were not dependent on the treatment modality.

Background and Purpose: The elastase-induced aneurysm model in rabbits has proved to be suitable for testing new endovascular occlusion devices. The purpose of this study was to evaluate different imaging modalities for the depiction of anatomy and size of elastase-induced aneurysms and for serial follow-up imaging., Materials and Methods: Elastase-induced aneurysms were created in eight Chinchilla bastard rabbits by endoluminal incubation of porcine elastase. Serial imaging was performed using intravenous DSA (IVDSA), contrast-enhanced MRA (CEMRA), and time-of-flight MRA (TOF) 14 days, 4 weeks and 3 months after aneurysm creation. Intraarterial DSA (IADSA) and CT angiography (CTA) were performed after 3 months. Aneurysm size and geometry (height H, width W, neck width N) were compared., Results: On IVDSA after two weeks mean aneurysm height was 6.2 mm (range 2.8 - 11.0 mm), mean aneurysm width was 2.8 mm (range 2.0 - 4.2 mm) and mean aneurysm neck width was 2.7 mm (range 2.0 - 4.2 mm). We did not observed any statistically significant change in aneurysm dimensions during follow-up at 4 weeks (CEMRA: H: 5.4, W: 2.4, N: 2.4; TOF: H: 5.7, W: 2.4, N: 2.7) and 3 months (CEMRA: H: 5.8, W: 2.6, N: 2.6; TOF: H: 6.9, W: 2.8, N: 3.0). Aneurysm dimensions could be best seen on IADSA (H: 6.2, W: 3.0, N: 2.7) with good correlation to CTA (r = 0.94; H: 6.1, W: 2.8, N: 2.6), CE-MRA (r = 0.92), and TOF (r = 0.97). TOF was superior to CEMRA in delineating the aneurysm wall., Conclusions: Serial imaging using MRA, CTA or intravenous and intraarterial angiography is feasible in the elastase-induced aneurysm model. Contrast-enhanced MRA, TOF-MRA and CTA showed good correlation to IADSA and are all suitable for non-invasive pretherapeutic measurement of aneurysm size.

Non-invasive or minimal invasive imaging techniques, such as CTA and MRA, are widely used and lead to an increasing number of incidentally diagnosed intracranial aneurysms. This review answers questions regarding pathogenesis, risk of rupture and treatment options. In conclusion, treatment guidelines based on the individual's risk profile are presented.

Seven patients presented with intracranial hemorrhage due to arteriovenous dural fistula. Six patients showed intracerebral hemorrhage combined with subdural hematoma and intraventricular hemorrhage in one case respectively, and one patient had infratentorial subarachnoid hemorrhage. Location of the fistulae was frontobasal (n=2), tentorium (n=2), transverse sinus (n=2), and superior sagittal sinus (n=1). Angiography revealed reflux into cortical veins in all cases. Therapy was surgery in both cases with fistula of the anterior cranial fossa with good results. An endovascular intraarterial therapy was performed in a case with circumscribed fistula of the superior sagittal sinus, this patient developed a second dural fistula during follow-up. Two patients with tentorial fistulae had primary endovascular treatment complicated by infarction of both thalami in one case and a recurrence of the fistula in the other. In the last case the fistula was closed by surgery. Out of two patients with widespread fistulae of the transverse sinus one made a good clinical recovery and the other remained unchanged. In the first case definite closure of a remnant of the fistula was refused, in the second no further therapy was recommended.

Major improvements have been achieved in endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms during the last twenty years. Initial techniques of selective balloon occlusion were progressively replaced by controlled packing of the aneurysmal sac with soft detachable platinum-coils (GDC). In some patients with large or giant aneurysms of the cavernous portion of the internal carotid artery endovascular parent vessel occlusion therapy with balloons is still necessary. In aneurysms of the proximal paraclinoidal segment of the internal carotid artery a combined endovascular and microneurosurgical approach, the "evacuation-trapping"-technique might be helpful. In patients with symptomatic cerebral vasospasm in whom conservative therapy has failed or is not possible balloon angioplasty and or the intra-arterial infusion of papaverine has become a valuable therapeutic alternative. Further follow-up studies are necessary to assess the value and long-term results of endovascular strategies.