Summary:
During a six-year period (1993O1998) 54 patients with cavernous angiomas (CA) of the brain were
operated. Cortical and subcortical supratentorial CA were manifested in 30 of 35 cases (85.7 %) by
epileptic seizures. 7O70 (mean 38.3) months after elimination of the lesion seizures did not occur in 20
of 27 examined patients (74 %), their number declined substantially in six (22.2 %), they persisted in
unaltered frequency and intensity in one patient (3.7 %). Sporadic epileptic seizures did not occur after
surgery in any of the patients, absence of improvement or incomplete improvement of the condition
was observed only in case of a chronic course. In case of multiple CA (14.8 %) the authors observed
haemorrhage from other lesions in two patients, in one case it called for elimination of another CA. In
one case the authors observed an asymptomatic relapse of CA. There was no permanent morbidity or
mortality after elimination of superficial supratentorial or cerebellar (3 cases) CA. After removal of CA
in deep structures (thalamus, brain stem) one of 16 patients died. He was operated in a serious condition
(surgical mortality is 1.8 % in the whole group, 6.2 % in deep CA). After elective operations with a milder
clinical course there was no mortality associated with the operation and deterioration of the neurolo-
gical condition was observed only in one case. The mean value of the Glasgow Outcome Scale before
surgery was 3.4, 11O71 (mean 38.4) months after surgery 4.0. Relapsing haemorrhage in one case called
for a radiosurgical operation with a gamma knife. In one of 38 superficial and in 5 of 16 deep CAa con-
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