ARTERIOVENOUS MALFORMATIONS

Course overview

ARTERIOVENOUS MALFORMATIONS (AVMS) ARE ABNORMAL FISTULAS BETWEEN ARTERIES AND VEINS WITHOUT AN INTERVENING CAPILLARY BED. HIGH ARTERIAL FLOW DIRECTLY INTO VENOUS STRUCTURES CAN LEAD TO DISRUPTION OF THE VENOUS WALLS AND ULTIMATELY CAUSE FATAL HEMORRHAGE. INTRACRANIAL AVMS ARE MOST COMMONLY DIAGNOSED DURING WORK-UP FOR AN ACUTE INTRACEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE BUT ARE ALSO OFTEN FOUND INCIDENTALLY DURING EVALUATION OF CONDITIONS SUCH CHRONIC HEADACHES AND SEIZURES. THE MOST WELL-KNOWN CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM TO DESCRIBE THEM IS THE SPETZLER-MARTIN GRADING SCALE.THIS SYSTEM, INITIALLY DESCRIBED IN 1986, USES THE AVMS SIZE, LOCATION IN THE ELOQUENT OR NON-ELOQUENT CORTEX, AND DESCRIPTION OF EITHER SUPERFICIAL OR DEEP VENOUS DRAINAGE TO ESTIMATE SURGICAL RISK. THIS ACTIVITY DESCRIBES THE EVALUATION, DIAGNOSIS, AND MANAGEMENT OF AVMS AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF TEAM-BASED INTERPROFESSIONAL CARE FOR AFFECTED PATIENTS.