What is cerebrovascular insufficiency?

Cerebrovascular insufficiency refers to a number of rare conditions that result in obstruction of one or more arteries that supply blood to the brain. The obstruction leads to strokes or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs or "mini strokes"). In children, one of the most common conditions that cause cerebrovascular insufficiency is moya-moya disease.

Diagnosis of cerebrovascular insufficiency

At Johns Hopkins, patients with cerebrovascular insufficiency undergo an extensive evaluation by a team of neurosurgeons, neurologists and neuroradiologists. If the problem cannot be treated with medicine, then surgery is considered.

Treatment for cerebrovascular insufficiency

We perform one of three types of surgery for this condition:

• Microsurgical extracranial-to-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass surgery – during this procedure, we connect an artery that typically supplies blood to the scalp to an artery in the brain and thus increase the blood supply to the brain.
• Microsurgical encephaloduromyosynangiosis (EDMS) – during this procedure, we transfer the blood supply of a muscle under the scalp to the brain.
• Microsurgical encephaloduroarteriosynangiosis (EDAS) – during this procedure, we transfer the blood supply of the scalp directly to the brain.

Johns Hopkins is one of the few hospitals in the country that carries out these microsurgical revascularization procedures with a high success rate.

For more information, contact the Johns Hopkins Cerebrovascular Center at 410-955-2228.