Endoscopic surgery for intraventricular arachnoid cysts in children: clinical presentation, radiological features, management, and outcomes over a 12-year period.

PURPOSE

Less than 0.5% of arachnoid cysts are intraventricular in origin. We review our experience with endoscopic surgery for intraventricular arachnoid cysts in children.

METHODS

This is a retrospective review of children with intraventricular arachnoid cysts who underwent surgery between 2005 and 2016. Clinical notes and imaging were reviewed.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine patients with endoscopically treated intraventricular arachnoid cysts were identified (M/F = 17:12; median age = 1.47 years, range = 7 days-13 years). All had hydrocephalus at presentation, many had symptoms/signs of raised intracranial pressure, and five (17%) were asymptomatic. Cysts were treated with fenestration into the ventricle alone (ventriculocystostomy [VC], n = 14), fenestration into the ventricle and cisternostomy (ventriculocystostomy plus cisternostomy [VC + C], n = 14), or endoscopic third ventriculostomy alone (n = 1). Six (21%) patients experienced transient and/or conservatively managed complications. Further surgery was required in 12 (41%). Revision-free survival was significantly shorter with VC compared to VC + C (log rank p = 0.049), and the majority of VC/VC + C revisions (n = 8 of 11, 73%) were required within 6 months of initial endoscopic surgery. One (3%) patient died during follow-up, from unrelated pathology. After a median follow-up of 67.5 months in survivors (range = 5.5-133.5 months), 24 (83%) cases were clinically and radiologically stable without a shunt in situ.

CONCLUSIONS

Endoscopic fenestration is safe and effective in most intraventricular arachnoid cysts. Additional cisternostomy at the time of cyst fenestration into the ventricle significantly improved revision-free survival in our cohort. Endoscopic surgery should be the first-line therapy when considering intervention for symptomatic intraventricular arachnoid cysts and for asymptomatic cysts increasing in size on serial imaging.