Objective: The endovascular treatment of a complex superior sagittal sinus dural arteriovenous fistula with ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (Onyx) in one session is described.
Clinical presentation: A 54-year-old man presented with dizziness and a bruit. A cerebral angiogram demonstrated a superior sagittal sinus dural arteriovenous fistula with a patent superior sagittal sinus that was supplied via multiple branches of the external carotid arteries bilaterally and the left anterior and middle cerebral arteries. Drainage was mainly through the superior sagittal sinus and, only in part, retrogradely through the cortical veins. A decision was made to proceed with endovascular treatment followed by surgery.
Intervention: Transarterial injection of one pedicle of middle meningeal artery on both sides with Onyx resulted in complete obliteration of the dural supply and some of the pial supply to the malformation without complications. The superior sagittal sinus remained patent. Based on this result, surgical treatment was cancelled. The residual pial supply had disappeared by the 10-month angiographic follow-up examination and the patient remained neurologically intact and without symptoms.
Conclusion: Definitive treatment may be attained with Onyx in dural arteriovenous fistulas. The potential of Onyx for use as a permanent embolic agent in dural arteriovenous fistulae needs to be investigated.