Characteristics and long-term outcome of 251 patients with dural arteriovenous fistulas in a defined population

Abstract

Object Management of dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) has changed during the last decades due to increased knowledge of their pathophysiology and natural history as well as advances in treatment modalities. The authors describe the characteristics and long-term outcome of a large consecutive series of patients with DAVFs. Methods Altogether 251 patients with 261 DAVFs were treated in 2 of the 5 neurosurgery departments at Helsinki and Kuopio University Hospitals between 1944 and 2006. Clinical data and radiological examinations were reviewed to assess patients' overall long-term clinical outcome. Results The detection rate of DAVFs increased markedly in the 1970s and again in the 1990s when digital subtraction angiography was introduced. The incidence of DAVFs in a defined southern Finnish population was 0.51 per 100,000 individuals per year, which represents 32% of all the brain arteriovenous malformations. In the early part of the series, DAVFs were treated by proximal ligation of the feeding arteri...