[Three cases of scalp arteriovenous malformations]

Three cases of scalp arteriovenous malformation (AVM) are presented and the pertinent literature is reviewed. Case 1 was a 50-year-old male who was admitted to hospital with a pulsatile mass involving the right parietal region. Selective angiography revealed a scalp AVM fed by bilateral superficial temporal and right occipital arteries. The AVM was embolized with Gelfoam pieces through catheterization and there was no evidence of recurrence of the lesion after follow-up period of three years. Case 2 was a 25-year-old male who was noticed to have a birth mark in the left occipito-parietal region and was hospitalized with a pulsatile gradually expanding mass after an episode of minor trauma in the same region. Selective angiography revealed a cirsoid type scalp AVM fed by bilateral superficial temporal and occipital arteries, and the authors performed a total resection of the mass because of selective Gelfoam embolization was not successful. Case 3 was a 49-year-old male who was hospitalized with the chief complaints of left tinnitus and pulsatile left supra-auricular mass. There was no history of trauma. Selective angiography revealed a scalp AVM fed by the left superficial temporal and occipital arteries and the authors performed a selective Gelfoam embolization and this was successful, but three months later, the AVM recurred and mainly fed by instead this was the left posterior auricular artery. Preoperative selective Gelfoam embolization followed by a total resection of the AMV with minimal blood loss.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)