Intracranial Cavernomas and Gamma Knife Radiosurgery

Microsurgical resection, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), and conservative management are three methods of treatment for intracranial cavernomas. However if left untreated, cavernomas may lead to intracerebral hemorrhage, seizures, focal neurologic deficits, or headaches. Deciding how to manage a cavernoma patient depends on a multitude factors. While microsurgery is the standard treatment for intracranial cavernomas, conservative treatment should be the choice for the patients without new or progressive neurological deficits and two or more documented hemorrhages and with seizure responsive to the medical treatment. For the others the treatment is primarily surgical for the cases with non-eloquent locations and the results have been best where complete excisions is achieved. Radiosurgery, especially Gamma Knife (GK) usage is an important alternative for treatment of deep and eloquent area located cavernomas and for the patients who do not accept surgical treatment.