• George A Alexiou, Evriviadis Mpairamidis, George Sfakianos, and Neofytos Prodromou.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital Agia Sofia, Athens, Greece. alexiougrg@yahoo.gr
• Pediatr Neurosurg. 2009 Jan 1; 45 (5): 375-8.

BackgroundCavernous hemangiomas are benign vascular hamartomas caused by developmental malformations of the vascular bed. They can be found in 0.3-0.7% of the population, whereas one fourth of these lesions occur in children.MethodsIn the present study, we report on 16 cases of cavernomas surgically treated in our institute. From each patient's file, the age, sex, lesion location, symptoms and follow-up were analyzed.ResultsThe most commonly presenting symptom was epilepsy. Radiological signs of acute hemorrhage were observed in 3 cases. Three children had multiple cavernomas. The parietal lobe was the most common site of occurrence, whereas only 2 cavernomas were infratentorial. There was no operative mortality. Postoperatively, there was no additional neurological deficit, and all patients gradually improved. In a case of pontine cavernoma, there was a need for reoperation due to rebleeding.ConclusionWith the improvement of microsurgical techniques and modern neuroimaging, nearly all cavernomas can be safely removed. Total resection is associated with patients' clinical improvement and seizure control.Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.

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