What is hemangioblastoma?

Hemangioblastoma is a benign growth of the central nervous system. These tumors can develop both in the brain and in the spinal cord, most commonly created in the membrane layer known as meninges. The most common treatment of hemangioblastoma is the removal of a tumor by surgery. Because these tumors are benign, removal is almost always therapeutic. The exception is when the tumor has a basic cause, such as a genetic defect that predisposes individuals to develop this type of tumor. Most develop in the back of the skull, the second most common position for the tumor has evolved like a spinal cord. It is rare that the tumor occurs in other places, but hemangioblastomas may occasionally develop in an optical nerve or peripheral nerves. Mors, but people with a disease of inheritance called von hippel-lindau (VHL) have a significantly increased risk of this type of tumor. Many people with VHL disease have recurring hemangioblastomas and kidney and adrenal tumors. Because these tumors are likely to be repeated in people with VHL diseases, treatmentAnd the tumor is not always successful.

Because most tumors do not repeat and usually remove with relatively ease, surgery is the standard treatment of hemangioblastoma. This treatment only avoids when the patient's health is too bad to undergo surgery or in other situations where risks predominate over benefits. In some cases, for example, people with VHL undergo surgery, unless necessary, due to the probability of tumor recurrence and increased risk of complications.

The aim of surgery is always to completely remove the tumor and maintain the surrounding brain or nerve tissues. In most cases, this is achievable due to the distinctive color of the tumor and the clear definition between the tumor and the spinal cord or the brain. Hemangioblastomas are a vascular type of tumor, which means that they are fed with blood vessels that are part of the tumor itself. For this reason is iNtraoperative bleeding and severe blood loss of one of the main risks of this operation. In order to reduce the risk of serious bleeding, the surgeon must carefully care about the tumor and coagulate the blood vessels that feed it.