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OBJECTIVE:

Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae (Type I spinal AVMs) are the most common type of spinal vascular malformations. The optimal treatment strategy has yet to be defined, and endovascular embolization is being offered with increasing frequency. A 7-year single-institution retrospective review of outcome with surgical management of Type I spinal AVMs is presented along with a meta-analysis of existing literature.

METHODS:

For the institutional analysis, a retrospective review of all patients who underwent treatment at our institution for Type I spinal AVMs was performed. Between 1995 and the present (the time frame during which endovascular treatments were available), 19 consecutive patients were treated. Follow-up was performed by clinical examination or telephone interview, and functional status was measured by use of the Aminoff-Logue score. For the meta-analysis, a MEDLINE search between …