Huge arteriovenous malformation in masseter muscle

Abstract

Arteriovenous malformation is a tumor characterized by direct connection between an artery and vein without capillaries in-between, and it is commonly located intracranially. Intramuscular arteriovenous malformations are rare in the head and neck region. Less than 1% of the vascular tumors are localized in a muscle, 15% of them are in the head and neck muscles. Among the head and neck muscles, masseter muscle is the most common location, with the rate of 4.9%. The condition of a 36-year-old patient who applied to our clinic with the complaints of progressively increasing pain and progressively growing mass in the right cheek that appeared 1.5 years ago was diagnosed as arteriovenous malformation located in the masseter muscle. After preoperative embolization, the mass was successfully treated with total excision. In this case report, diagnostic and therapeutic tools addressing arteriovenous malformation located in the masseter muscle are discussed in the light of current literature.