Treatment

Treatment for AVM depends on where the abnormality is found, your signs and symptoms and your overall health, and the risk of treatment. Sometimes, an AVM is monitored with regular imaging tests to watch for changes or problems. Other AVMs require treatment. Determining whether an AVM needs treatment involves factors including whether the AVM:

• Has bled
• Is causing symptoms other than bleeding
• Is in a part of the brain that treatment can be safely given

Medications

Medications can help manage symptoms such as seizures, headaches and back pain.

Surgery

The main treatment for AVM is surgery. Your doctor might recommend surgery if you're at a high risk of bleeding. The surgery might completely remove the AVM. This treatment is usually used when the AVM is in an area where surgeons can remove the AVM with little risk of causing significant damage to the brain tissues.

Endovascular embolization is a type of surgery in which the surgeon threads a catheter through the arteries to the AVM. Then a substance is injected to close parts of the AVM to reduce the blood flow. This might also be done before brain surgery or radiosurgery to help reduce the risk of complications.

Sometimes stereotactic radiosurgery is used to treat AVMs. This uses intense, highly focused beams of radiation to damage the blood vessels and stop the blood supply to the AVM.

You and your doctors will discuss whether to treat your AVM, weighing the possible benefits against the risks.

Follow-up

After treatment for an AVM, you might need regular follow-up visits with your doctor. You might need more imaging tests to make sure that the AVM is resolved and that the malformation has not recurred. You'll also need regular imaging tests and follow-up visits with your doctor if your AVM is being monitored.