First, as one might expect, vascular headaches are a common type of pain, though the venous angioma can cause headaches in a variety of ways. The lesion may leak small amounts of blood, irritating the meninges and producing considerable pain.

Generally, these developmental venous anomalies do not require any treatment as they are part and parcel of the brains normal blood circulation, and any surgical excision or closure would result in complications. As they aren’t dangerous, long-term follow-up or imaging isn’t necessary either.

Developmental venous anomaly (DVA), also known as cerebral venous angioma, is a congenital malformation of veins which drain normal brain. They were thought to be rare before cross-sectional imaging but are now recognized as being the most common cerebral vascular malformation, accounting for ~55% of all such lesions.

DVAs also may be called venous angiomas or benign variations in venous drainage. Some doctors refer to them as caput medusae. This is a Latin term that means head of Medusa . These unusual vein formations can occur anywhere in the body. But they are found most often in the brain or spinal cord.

DVAs are benign (not cancerous). DVAs also may be called venous angiomas or benign variations in venous drainage. Some doctors refer to them as caput medusae, a Latin term that means head of Medusa because the clump of veins resembles snakes on the head of the Greek mythological character named Medusa.

Overall mortality rates in AVM patients range from 0.7%–2.9% per year [9].

AVM affects around 1 in 2000 people. Although most people with the condition can lead relatively normal lives, they live with the risk that the tangles can burst and bleed into the brain at any time, causing a stroke. Around one in every hundred AVM patients suffers a stroke each year.

You may be able to do many of your usual activities after 4 to 6 weeks. But you will probably need 2 to 6 months to fully recover. This care sheet gives you a general idea about how long it will take for you to recover. But each person recovers at a different pace.

Prognosis. The prognosis of an AVM depends on several factors, beginning with whether the AVM is discovered before or after bleeding. More than 90% of those who bleed survive the event.

Is an AVM a serious health risk? An AVM can cause hemorrhaging (bleeding) both into the brain and around the brain, seizures, headaches and neurological problems such as paralysis or loss of speech, memory or vision. AVMs that bleed can lead to serious neurological problems and sometimes death.

Even many nonsymptomatic AVMs show evidence of past bleeding. But massive hemorrhages can occur if the physical stresses caused by extremely high blood pressure, rapid blood flow rates, and vessel wall weakness are great enough.

Getting Disability for Arteriovenous Malformation AVM is not a condition that is listed by the Social Security Administration (SSA), but the complications of an AVM rupture can still qualify a person for benefits.

An arteriovenous malformation can develop anywhere in your body but occurs most often in the brain or spine. Even so, brain AVMs are rare and affect less than 1 percent of the population. The cause of AVMs is not clear. Most people are born with them, but they can occasionally form later in life.

AVM = arteriovenous malformation; TBI = traumatic brain injury. Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are typically considered congenital lesions, although there is growing evidence for de novo formation of these lesions as well.

AVM resection involves delicately separating the AVM from the surrounding tissue. Using a microscope, a UPMC neurosurgeon cuts off the blood supply to the AVM and removes it. An advantage of this procedure is that the AVM is immediately corrected following a successful surgery.

The rate of successful obliteration at my center for optimally treated AVM’s is approximately 80%-85%. In hundreds of AVM patients treated at the University of Virginia, long-term follow-up reveals an approximately 1.5% risk of Gamma Knife induced injury.

The surgery may take several hours. How long depends on the difficulty encountered by the surgeons. At the end of the surgery, a head dressing will be applied to your head and you will be taken to the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit where you will be observed closely. You will be moved back to your room in 1-2 days.

Most AVMs are detected with either computed tomography (CT) brain scan or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan. For any type of treatment involving an AVM, an angiogram may be needed to better identify the type of AVM.

Treatment options include observation, microsurgery, endovascular embolization, stereotactic radiosurgery, or a combination of these. Embolization, is the most common treatment for AVMs and consists of injecting a substance inside the abnormal arteries to block them off and decrease blood flow to the AVM.

A cerebral vascular malformation (AVM) is a collection or tangle of blood vessels in the brain that can restrict or alter blood flow. Often, the condition is present at birth and can worsen over time.