Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome with Atypical Presentation of Cerebral Cavernous Angioma: A Case Report and Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome (KTWS) is a rare syndrome characterized by the triad of cutaneous hemangiomas, venous varicosities, and osseous-soft tissue hypertrophy of the affected limb. Clinical manifestations, genetic testing, and radiologic imaging are the key steps in diagnosing this syndrome.

CASE DESCRIPTION

An 18-month-old boy was brought for follow-up brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a history of right lower limb hypertrophy, cutaneous varicosities, and hemangiomas diagnosed at birth. A baseline MRI at 12 months revealed multiple hemorrhagic lesions within the cerebrum, the largest in the right temporal lobe, which was treated surgically at the age of 18 months because of its rapid growth. This is the youngest patient with KTWS treated surgically for intracranial hemangiomas.

CONCLUSION

KTWS is a rare disease with a wide range of manifestations. Multisystemic evaluation of this group of patients should be performed to identify cavernous hemangiomas at the early stage of life and adequately treat them in the future. Treatment of KTWS patients with cavernous hemangiomas should not be different from the treatment of patients with any other hemangiomas, and surgical intervention should be considered on a case-to-case bases.

Developmental venous anomalies

Developmental venous anomalies (DVAs) are relatively common lesions, present in up to 3% of the population. The defining characteristic of these lesions is the confluence of radially oriented veins into a single dilated venous channel. DVAs are also known as cerebral venous angiomas, cerebral venous malformations, and cerebral venous medullary malformations. They are the most common type of cerebral vascular malformation found on autopsy studies, and they are often encountered as incidental findings on neuroimaging studies. DVAs are congenital lesions thought to arise from aberrations that occur during venous development, but continue to provide the normal venous drainage to the cerebral territory in which they reside. Although the natural history of DVAs is benign, they may be associated with cavernous malformations or other vascular abnormalities, which can lead to hemorrhage in the vicinity of the DVA. Surgical or endovascular obliteration of DVAs carries a significant risk of venous infarction; thus, conservative management is the treatment of choice for patients with these lesions.

[Cerebral artery fenestrations: incidence, association with cerebral arterial aneurysms and other vascular diseases according to the data of multislice spiral computed tomography angiography]

OBJECTIVE

To determine the incidence of fenestrations from multislice spiral computed tomography angiography (CTA) series and to establish the possible association of fenestrations with aneurysms and other vascular diseases of the brain.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Four hundred and eighty-six persons who had undergone brachiocephalic artery (BA) CTA for different clinical indications were selected for retrospective analysis. Postprocessor data processing was made to detect extra- and intracranial artery fenestrations. Saccular and fusiform cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), and venous angiomas were detected in addition to fenestrations. When aneurysms were concurrent with fenestrations, their locations were compared.

RESULTS

Among the 486 patients, fenestrations were revealed in 50 (10.3%) cases, of which there were 46 (9.5%) intracranial artery fenestrations and 4 (0.8%) vertebral artery (VA) ones in the extracranial segments. Aneurysms of different locations were found in 163 (33.5%) patients. Venous angiomas of different locations were seen in 9 (1.9%) persons; AVMs were observed in 21 (4.3%) patients. Fifty-four multiple fenestrations were identified. The bulk of fenestrations were located in the area of the anterior communicating artery (ACA) in 28 (51.9%) patients. Aneurysms were found in 11 (22%) patients with fenestrations. Aneurysms were detected in 152 (34.9%) of 436 patients without fenestrations. The incidence of aneurysms was not statistically different in patients with and without fenestrations (p > 0.05); moreover, aneurysms were somewhat more common in patients without fenestrated vessels. Aneurysm located in the area of fenestration was in only one (9.1%) patient. In other cases aneurysms were located in the vessels having no fenestrations. Aneurysms were relatively frequently encountered in 5 (45.5%) patients with BA fenestration. There was no statistical difference in the incidence of AVMs in the fenestration and non-fenestration groups. Venous angiomas significantly more frequently occurred in patients with fenestrations (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

CTA findings showed fenestrations 10.3% of patients. Fenestrations were located most frequently in the area of ACA and less frequently in the area of BA and middle cerebral artery. Those of other locations, concomitant and extracranial ones, were very rare. According to our data, there was no direct relationship of fenestrations to arterial aneurysms and AMVs. When fenestrations were in the area of BA, the incidence of aneurysms increased up to 45.5%. Venous angiomas occurred more commonly in patients with fenestrations.

Venous angioma in an airman

Cerebral venous angioma generally has a benign clinical course; however, it might cause cerebral hemorrhage or seizure. On evaluation of an applicant with cerebral hemorrhage due to venous angioma, ruling out other primary diseases is important to consider about the potential of incapacitation.

Treatment differences in cases with venous angioma

Venous angiomas were found to be the most common cerebral vascular malformations, composing 63% of such lesions in two autopsy series. Annual bleeding risk associated with venous angiomas is about 0.22 % per year. Venous angiomas are generally silent lesions because of their dynamic features, and are low flow and low pressure vascular structures draining normal brain tissue. An angioma rarely causes symptoms such as bleeding, seizure, hemifacial spasm, trigeminal neuralgia, aqueduct compression, nonhemorrhagic infarction and thrombosis of the draining vein. Even if it should bleed, the lesion can be managed conservatively in asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients. In this paper we report two venous angioma cases. The first patient bled twice in a short period of time and the angioma was located at the posterior fossa next to the left lateral recess. The second patient recently suffered a cerebral stroke that was located in the vicinity of the right caudate nucleus and not associated with the venous angioma that was located next to the left caudate nucleus. This patient had been under warfarin sodium treatment for 14 years due to his previous coronary artery bypass surgery, but unknowingly there was a venous angioma located next to the caudate nucleus.

Bilateral cerebral venous angioma associated with varices: a case report and review of the literature

A varix occurring with a cerebral venous angioma is a rare combination of cerebral vascular malformations. The most common vascular anomaly associated with a venous angioma is a cavernous angioma. We report a case of bilateral supratentorial venous angioma with 2 varices involving the angioma situated on the right frontotemporal region. Multiple subependymal veins were seen in the right supratentorial region, which joined to form multiple collector veins, which, in turn, unified into a tortuous channel in the region of the sylvian fissure and continued into venous varices.

Association of solitary, segmental hemangiomas of the skin with visceral hemangiomatosis

BACKGROUND

Multiple hemangiomas of the skin have traditionally been recognized as a clue to potential visceral hemangiomas. Recently, hemangiomas have been recognized to have subcategories, localized and segmental, which correlate with risk of complications. While less common, segmental hemangiomas of the skin have a higher risk of being life- or function-threatening and/or having associated structural anomalies such as those that occur in PHACE (posterior fossa brain malformations, hemangiomas, arterial anomalies, coarctation of the aorta and cardiac defects, and eye abnormalities) syndrome (PHACES, if sternal clefting/supraumbilical raphe is included). However, the potential association of solitary, segmental hemangiomas of the skin with visceral hemangiomatosis has not been previously emphasized.

OBSERVATIONS

A total of 47 cases of segmental hemangiomas of the skin in association with visceral hemangiomatosis were found. The location of the cutaneous hemangiomas most commonly, but not exclusively, involved the face (37 cases [79%]). The most common site of internal organ involvement was the liver (20 cases [43%]), followed by the gastrointestinal tract (16 [34%]), brain (16 [34%]), mediastinum (9 [19%]), and lung (7 [15%]). The percentages of reported cases of hemangiomas of the pancreas, spleen, bones, or kidneys were 6% or less. Forty percent of patients met criteria for the diagnosis of PHACE(S) syndrome. In this subgroup, internal organ hemangiomas were most commonly found in the brain or mediastinum (18 cases [53%]). Overall, 12 patients (25%) died during infancy, most commonly because of gastrointestinal involvement or congestive heart failure secondary to liver involvement. Conclusion Segmental hemangiomas of the skin have an associated risk of visceral hemangiomatosis, with the potential of causing vital organ compromise.

Histologically classified venous angiomas of the brain: a controversy

The term "venous angioma" (VA) usually refers to a developmental venous anomaly (DVA). However, a group of vascular malformations called VAs shows no venous abnormalities on angiography. The clinical and histological features of histologically classified VAs were studied in eight patients who presented with hemorrhage or seizures to reevaluate these venous anomalies. Angiography showed no venous abnormalities in six patients. Histological study included immunostaining for smooth muscle actin and glial fibrillary acidic protein. Surgical specimens of 10 cases of cavernous angiomas, 10 cases of arteriovenous malformations, and two cases of capillary telangiectasias were studied to compare these types of VAs. Angiographically occult VAs were surgically removed safely, whereas removal of DVAs was complicated by brain swelling and hemorrhagic infarction of the brain. Histological examination found angiographically occult VAs contained malformed and compactly arranged vessels with partly degenerated walls, whereas DVAs had dilated thin-walled vessels that were diffusely distributed in the normal white matter. This study of our cases and a review of the reported cases of VAs suggests that two different clinical and pathological entities are commonly categorized as "VA," angiographically occult VAs and DVAs. These two entities should be carefully distinguished.

Venous angioma adjacent to the root entry zone of the trigeminal nerve: implications for management of trigeminal neuralgia

Detection of a venous angioma at the root entry zone is important for surgical planning, so that the neurosurgeon will be aware that both veins and arteries may require microvascular decompression. In selected cases, alternative treatment may be indicated to avoid the potential surgical complication of a venous infarct. Trigeminal neuralgia typically occurs in the middle-aged to elderly population, usually the result of compression of the trigeminal nerve at its root entry zone by an ectatic, aging artery or, less commonly, a regional vein [1, 2, 3]. When associated with a venous angioma at the root entry zone, trigeminal neuralgia usually presents at a younger age [4, 5, 6]. We review the imaging examinations and clinical data of five patients with trigeminal neuralgia who had a venous angioma adjacent to the root entry zone of the trigeminal nerve, and discuss how the imaging findings affected their management.

Cerebral venous infarction following thrombosis of the draining vein of a venous angioma (developmental abnormality)

We report two cases of cerebral venous angioma presenting as venous infarction, one in the left parietal lobe, the other in the left frontal lobe. Cerebral imaging demonstrated thrombotic occlusion of the draining vein of the venous angioma associated in the latter case with thrombosis of the anterior part of the superior longitudinal sinus. Both patients were free of coagulopathy. They were treated with anticoagulant therapy. One completely recovered, while the other was left with slight residual disability. Thrombosis of the draining vein has been reported in only 6 previous cases, of whom only 2 received anticoagulant therapy. Discovery of a venous angioma in the diagnostic workup of a patient with recent neurological disorders should raise the question of a possible occlusion of the draining vein and lead to an appropriate therapy.

Association of venous angioma and atypical meningioma--case report

A 67-year-old male presented with an atypical meningioma arising from the right tentorium associated with a venous angioma in the left cerebellar hemisphere. The venous angioma was detected incidentally during examinations for the brain tumor. The brain tumor was removed completely and the venous angioma followed conservatively. Venous angiomas associated with brain tumors should be followed conservatively, as the clinical significance and surgical indications are unclear.