Outcomes of Surgery for Brainstem Cavernous Malformations: A Systematic Review

Background and Purpose- The goal of this study was to systematically review the outcomes and complications after surgical resection of brain stem cavernous malformations (BCMs). Methods- A systematic literature review was performed using the PubMed database for studies published between 1986 and 2018. All studies comprising ≥2 patients with surgically resected BCMs and available follow-up data were included. Data extracted from studies included patient demographics, BCM location, and surgical outcomes. Results- Eighty-six studies comprising 2493 patients (adult and pediatric) were included for final analysis. Complete resection was achieved in 92.3% (fixed-effects pooled estimate [FE], 92.9% [91.7%-94.0%]; random-effects pooled estimate [RE], 89.4% [86.5%-92.0%]) of patients, and rehemorrhage of residual BCMs occurred in 58.6% (FE, 58.8% [49.7%-67.6%]; RE, 57.2% [43.5%-70.2%]). Postoperative morbidity occurred in 34.8% (FE, 30.9% [29.0%-32.8%]; RE, 31.1% [25.8%-36.6%]) of patients. Postoperative morbidities included motor deficit in 11.0% (FE, 9.9% [8.1%-11.7%]; RE, 11.1% [7.0%-16.0%]), sensory deficit in 6.7% (FE, 6.3% [4.8%-7.9%]; RE, 7.6% [4.5%-11.5%]), tracheostomy/gastrostomy in 6.0% (FE, 5.2% [4.3%-6.1%]; RE, 3.8% [2.6%-5.3%]), and other cranial nerve deficits in 29.4% (FE, 27.6% [25.3%-29.9%]; RE, 33.9% [25.7%-42.6%]) of patients. At final follow-up, 57.9% (FE, 57.6% [55.6%-59.6%]; RE, 57.2% [52.1%-62.3%]) and 25.9% (FE, 24.1% [22.4%-25.9%]; RE, 18.5% [14.6%-22.8%]) of patients had improvement and stability of preoperative symptoms, respectively. Mortality rate was 1.6% (FE, 1.9% [1.4%-2.5%]; RE, 1.8% [1.4%-2.5%]). Conclusions- High cure rates and low rates of postoperative morbidity can be achieved with surgery in patients with BCMs. Most patients had improved preoperative symptoms at final follow-up. To avoid rehemorrhage, complete resection should be the goal of surgery.