Neurosurgical and neuroendovascular management of Takayasu's arteritis

The roles of surgical and endovascular treatments for patients with Takayasu's arteritis are not clear. We report our experience in the neurosurgical and/or neuroendovascular treatment of patients with Takayasu's arteritis who exhibited ischemic neurological symptoms.

Between 1994 and 1998, seven patients with Takayasu's arteritis and neurological symptoms were treated at the Stanford University Medical Center. All patients were angiographically evaluated and received maximal medical therapy. Cerebral blood flow studies were performed for six patients. Three patients underwent surgical revascularization procedures alone, two underwent combinations of surgical and endovascular procedures, and two underwent endovascular treatment alone.

The most common neurological symptoms were dysequilibrium, syncope, and visual disturbances. The characteristic angiographic features of Takayasu's arteritis were identified for all patients. The subclavian arteries and proximal carotid and vertebral arteries were involved in all patients. Two patients exhibited improvement of their symptoms after endovascular treatment alone. There were two deaths after surgery, involving patients with severe global cerebral hypoperfusion. All other surgically treated patients exhibited improvement of their symptoms, with patent grafts, up to 4 years after surgery. Cerebral blood flow improved after treatment.

Improvement of symptoms can be achieved with surgical revascularization and/or endovascular treatment. Staged revascularization might be better than one-stage bilateral high-flow grafting for patients with severe global hypoperfusion.