Recurrent hemorrhage risk associated with medial target medullary artery anastomosis from the periventricular collateral vessel in adult patients with moyamoya disease

Background: Although the association between periventricular target collateral anastomosis and recurrent ipsilateral hemorrhage has been evaluated in adult patients with moyamoya disease (MMD), no studies have investigated the relationship between target anastomotic territory and recurrent ipsilateral hemorrhage. The goal of this study was to assess this association.

Methods: Consecutive adult MMD patients who had experienced initial intracranial hemorrhage and undergone conservative treatment were included. Two readers assessed angiographic results to identify the target anastomotic territory (medial medullary artery, lateral medullary artery, multiple medullary arteries, or nonmedullary artery) responsible for the hemorrhage. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate the risk of recurrent hemorrhage.

Results: In the 36 hemispheres with initial hemorrhage, the target anastomotic territory was in the anastomotic territory of the medial medullary artery in 10 (27.8%), lateral medullary artery in 15 (41.7%), multiple medullary arteries in 2 (5.6%), and a nonmedullary artery in 9 (25.0%) hemispheres. During 45.1 ± 40.0 months of follow-up, recurrent ipsilateral hemorrhage occurred in 44.4% (16/36) of hemispheres. The target anastomotic territories responsible for the recurrent event were in the anastomotic territory of the medial medullary artery in 9 (56.3%) hemispheres, lateral medullary artery in 6 (37.5%) hemispheres, and multiple medullary arteries in 1 (6.3%) hemisphere. The anastomotic territory of the medial medullary artery was associated with recurrent hemorrhage before (HR = 2.94; 95% CI, 1.07-8.08; p = 0.037) and after (HR = 6.65; 95% CI, 1.32-33.60; p = 0.022) adjustments were made for confounding factors.

Conclusions: The incidence of recurrent ipsilateral hemorrhage varies with the target anastomotic territory in adult patients with MMD. Medial target medullary artery anastomosis is a significant risk factor for recurrent ipsilateral hemorrhage.