Treatment of carotid-cavernous fistulas by embolization of the cavernous sinus through venous affluents or direct puncture.

Eight patients with nine carotid-cavernous fistulas (CCF), one of them bilateral, have been treated in our Department by embolization of the venous components of the cavernous sinus, either through one of its venous effluents or by direct puncture of the sinus, in an effort to preserve the internal carotid artery (ICA). Five of the fistulas were of traumatic origin and four were spontaneous. In two cases the cavernous sinus was embolized through bridging temporal veins, and in another two cases embolization was carried out by catheterization of the cavernous sinus via the superior ophthalmic vein, while in the remaining five cases it was performed by direct puncture of the lateral wall of the sinus. The embolizing materials employed were bone wax mixed with an oily iodised contrast media, small pieces of oxidized cellulose or gelfoam vehicled by saline solution, and fibrin sealant. Obliteration of the CCF was complete in all but one case, in which this was accomplished only partially. On six occasions carotid patency was maintained, while in two patients failure of the technique made trapping of the ICA necessary. In one patient the ICA was ligated prior to the embolization of the cavernous sinus. The surgical techniques employed and the results achieved are exposed.