Background: The high pressures documented in the intracranial venous sinuses in idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) could be the result of focal stenotic lesions in the lateral sinuses obstructing cranial venous outflow.
Objective: To explore the relation between venous sinus disease and IIH.
Methods: 12 patients with refractory IIH had dilatation and stenting of the venous sinuses after venography and manometry had shown intracranial venous hypertension proximal to stenoses in the lateral sinuses. Intrasinus pressures were recorded before and after the procedure and correlated with clinical outcome.
Results: Intrasinus pressures were variably reduced by stenting. Five patients were rendered asymptomatic, two were improved, and five were unchanged.
Conclusions: The importance of venous sinus disease in the aetiology of IIH is probably underestimated. Lateral sinus stenting shows promise as an alternative treatment to neurosurgical intervention in intractable cases.