[Management of intracranial arteriovenous malformations]

Intracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are congenital lesions that can cause serious neurological deficits or even death. They can manifest as intracranial hemorrhage, epileptic seizure, or other symptoms such as headache or tinnitus. They are detected by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Recently there have been significant developments in the management of AVMs. In this paper, the authors represent an overview of the epidemiology of AVMs and the existing treatment strategies. AVMs are ideally excised by standard microsurgical techniques. The grading scale which was proposed by Spetzler and Martin is widely used to estimate the risk of direct surgery. Stereotactic radiosurgery such as that using a gamma knife is very useful for small lesions located in eloquent areas. Technological advances in endovascular surgery have provided new alternatives in the treatment of AVMs. Currently indications for embolization can be divided into (1) presurgical embolization in large AVMs to occlude deep arterial feeding vessels and (2) embolization before stereotactic radiosurgery to reduce the size of the nidus. Palliative embolization can be also applied for patients with large, inoperable AVMs who are suffering from progressive neurological deficits secondary to venous hypertension and/or arterial steal phenomenon.