Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2016 Apr 20:7:45.
doi: 10.4103/2152-7806.180766. eCollection 2016.

Spontaneous obliteration highlights the dynamic nature of cerebral arteriovenous malformations: A case report and review of the literature

Su Lone Lim  1 , Aaron Song Chuan Foo  1 , Bengt Karlsson  1 , Tseng Tsai Yeo  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Spontaneous obliteration highlights the dynamic nature of cerebral arteriovenous malformations: A case report and review of the literature

Su Lone Lim et al. Surg Neurol Int. .

Abstract

Background: Cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are dynamic lesions and have been documented to arise de novo, enlarge, regress, obliterate, and even recur. Spontaneous obliteration of AVM is a rare and poorly understood phenomenon.

Case description: We present a case of spontaneous obliteration of AVM in a 60-year-old gentleman who presented with intraparenchymal hemorrhage from a ruptured right parieto-occipital AVM. Angiography performed before gamma knife surgery 4 months after his initial presentation demonstrated complete absence of AVM.

Conclusion: In our center's 20-year experience of treatment of cerebral AVMs (approximately 600 cases), this is the only case that has been aborted due to spontaneous obliteration leading us to infer that the incidence of spontaneous AVM obliteration is <1%. Spontaneous obliteration of AVM is a rare but well-established phenomenon that bears testimony to the dynamics of this vascular disorder.

Keywords: Cerebral arteriovenous malformation; dynamic lesion; spontaneous obliteration.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Computer tomography scan showing acute intracerebral hemorrhage in the right parieto-occipital region
Figure 2
Figure 2
Computer tomography angiography showing arteriovenous malformation in right parieto-occipital region
Figure 3
Figure 3
Digital subtraction angiography showing arteriovenous malformation in right parieto-occipital region with single feeding artery from right posterior cerebral artery and single draining vein into the superior sagittal sinus
Figure 4
Figure 4
Digital subtraction angiography performed just before gamma knife surgery planning showing complete absence of the arteriovenous malformation
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abdulrauf SI, Malik GM, Awad IA. Spontaneous angiographic obliteration of cerebral arteriovenous malformations. Neurosurgery. 1999;44:280–7. - PubMed
    1. Bogren H, Svalander C, Wickbom I. Angiography in intracranial cavernous hemangiomas. Acta Radiol Diagn (Stockh) 1970;10:81–9. - PubMed
    1. Buis DR, van den Berg R, Lycklama G, van der Worp HB, Dirven CM, Vandertop WP. Spontaneous regression of brain arteriovenous malformations – A clinical study and a systematic review of the literature. J Neurol. 2004;251:1375–82. - PubMed
    1. Castaigne P, Buge A, Pertuiset B, Laplane D, Corbin J. Radiologically excluded, thrombosed angioma. Bull Mem Soc Med Hop Paris. 1961;77:923–30. - PubMed
    1. Cloft HJ. Spontaneous regression of cerebral arteriovenous malformation in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2002;23:1049–50. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types