Radiosurgery in the treatment of cerebral AVMs

Radiosurgery of AVM's is gaining in popularity and is advocated by many for the treatment of lesions less than 3 cm in diameter. During a 17 month period 33 patients with cerebral AVM's were treated with radiosurgery. All regions of the brain were represented in the series including brain stem. A mean follow-up of 10.8 months revealed a 6% rebleed rate and a 9% total complication rate. Multimodality therapy including embolization and surgery is recommended for the treatment of AVM's and radiosurgery is seen as an important adjunctive treatment option.