Radiosurgical treatment of low flow carotid-cavernous fistulae.

The good results obtained by stereotactic radiosurgery in arteriovenous malformations has led the authors to expect similar results in low flow carotid-cavernous fistulae. In this paper, 20 cases who underwent radiosurgery with a conventional gamma source are presented. The total dose delivered was 36 to 40 Gy. 90% of the patients were cured after radiosurgery after a mean time of 7 months. Those presenting a mild improvement after a mean time of 2 months and those with a marked improvement after 4 months.