Intracranial venous hypertension in craniosynostosis: mechanistic underpinnings and therapeutic implications

GZ Ghali, MGZ Ghali, EZ Ghali, VM Srinivasan… - World neurosurgery, 2019 - Elsevier
GZ Ghali, MGZ Ghali, EZ Ghali, VM Srinivasan, KM Wagner, A Rothermel, J Taylor…
World neurosurgery, 2019Elsevier
Highlights•IC-HTN is common with multisutural CSO and is multifactorial in etiology, with
venous hypertension playing a prominent role.•CSO results in venous anomalies: jugular–
sigmoid and transverse sinus stenosis and extensive transosseous venous
collaterals.•Venous anomalies and hypertension might represent altered cranial base
growth and/or a primary venous developmental defect.•Determining the specific mechanism
underlying IC-HTN in any given patient with CSO facilitates individualization of …
Highlights
  • IC-HTN is common with multisutural CSO and is multifactorial in etiology, with venous hypertension playing a prominent role.
  • CSO results in venous anomalies: jugular–sigmoid and transverse sinus stenosis and extensive transosseous venous collaterals.
  • Venous anomalies and hypertension might represent altered cranial base growth and/or a primary venous developmental defect.
  • Determining the specific mechanism underlying IC-HTN in any given patient with CSO facilitates individualization of treatment.
  • Jugular foraminoplasty, venous stenting, and venous bypass can be used to treat IC-HTN due to venous hypertension in CSO.
Patients with complex, multisutural, and syndromic craniosynostosis (CSO) frequently exhibit intracranial hypertension. The intracranial hypertension cannot be entirely attributed to the craniocephalic disproportion with calvarial restriction because cranial vault expansion has not consistently alleviated elevated intracranial pressure. Evidence has most strongly supported a multifactorial interaction, including venous hypertension along with other pathogenic processes. Patients with CSO exhibit marked venous anomalies, including stenosis of the jugular–sigmoid complex, transverse sinuses, and extensive transosseous venous collaterals. These abnormal intracranial–extracranial occipital venous collaterals might represent anomalous development, with persistence and subsequent enlargement of channels normally present in the fetus, either as a primary defect or as nonregression in response to failure of the development of the jugular–sigmoid complexes. It has been suggested by some investigators that venous hypertension in patients with CSO could be treated directly via jugular foraminoplasty, venous stenting, or jugular venous bypass, although these options are not in common clinical practice. Obstructive sleep apnea, occurring as a consequence of midface hypoplasia, can also contribute to intracranial hypertension in patients with syndromic CSO. Thus, correction of facial deformities, as well as posterior fossa decompression, could also play important roles in the treatment of intracranial hypertension. Determining the precise mechanistic underpinnings underlying intracranial hypertension in any given patient with CSO requires individualized evaluation and management.
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