Restoration of periventricular vasculature after direct bypass for moyamoya disease: intra-individual comparison

BackgroundWhile periventricular anastomosis, a unique abnormal vasculature in moyamoya disease, has been studied in relation to intracranial hemorrhage, no study has addressed its change after bypass surgery. The authors sought to test whether direct bypass surgery could restore normal periventricular vasculature.MethodsPatients who had undergone direct bypass surgery for moyamoya disease at a single institution were eligible for the study. Baseline, postoperative, and follow-up magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) scans were scheduled before surgery, after the first surgery, and 3 to 6months after contralateral second surgery, respectively. Sliding-thin-slab maximum-intensity-projection coronal MRA images of periventricular anastomoses were scored according to the three subtypes (lenticulostriate, thalamic, and choroidal anastomosis). Baseline and postoperative MRA images were compared to obtain a matched comparison of score changes in the surgical and nonsurgical hemispheres within individuals (intra-individual comparison).ResultsOf 110 patients, 42 were identified for intra-individual comparisons. The periventricular anastomosis score decreased significantly in the surgical hemispheres (median, 2 versus 1; p<0.001), whereas the score remained unchanged in the nonsurgical hemispheres (median, 2 versus 2; p=0.57); the score change varied significantly between the surgical and nonsurgical hemispheres (p<0.001). Of the 104 periventricular-anastomosis-positive hemispheres undergoing surgery, 47 (45.2%) were assessed as negative in the follow-up MRA. Among the subtypes, choroidal anastomosis was most likely to be assessed as negative (79.7% of positive hemispheres).ConclusionsPeriventricular vasculature can be restored after direct bypass. The likelihood of correction of choroidal anastomosis is a subject requiring further studies.