Introduction: Childhood cavernomas incidence is increasing. His natural history, surgical treatment and clinical outcames are not well understood in children.
Objective: The aim of this study is to describethe clinical profileof patients with diagnostic of cavernomas in the Pediatric Neurology Department of our Hospital, between 1998-2010.
Methods: N=19 patients. Variables as age, clinical presentation, localization, treatment and evolution were describe.
Results: 14 (73,7%) male, mean age of symptoms debut was 7,6 years (11 month to 14 years old), 31,5% of the patients were youger than 3 years and 26,3% older than ten years. Clinical manifestations: seizures(63,2%), focal neurologic signs (31,6%),cephalea (31,6%). The onset of symptoms were related in 29,4% with radiological signs of bleeding. 84.2% were solitary lessions located at supratentorial level (73,7%), brainstem (10,5%) and spinal cord (10,5%). Of the supratentorial lessions 64,3% were left sided and were more frequent in temporal and frontal lobe (both 37,5%). CT sensibility was 53,4% and MR 88,2% . Surgical resection was practiced in 7 cases and no surgical management in 12 cases with favourable results in 4 and 9 cases respectively. Epilepsy was the most frequent complication (21,5%).
Conclusion: In our group cavernomas were more frequent in men and mostly presented as solitary supratentorial lessions. Epilepsy is the most frequent long term complication, similar to those published in other series.