The syndromes and surgical treatment of aneurysms of the great vein of Galen

Abstract

✓ The authors review 37 cases of primary aneurysms of the vein of Galen reported in the literature and present five new ones. The magnitude of the shunt from arterial feeders to the primary aneurysm indicates the age at which the patient's symptoms first appeared as well as the nature and severity of those symptoms. Newborn infants have intractable heart failure, older infants have hydrocephalus, and adolescents have headache and syncope. Four clinical categories, based on the time of onset of symptoms, are described, and the diagnostic studies and surgical techniques discussed. Four-vessel angiography and ligation of the feeding vessels at the point of entry into the vein of Galen are recommended.