Surgery for cerebral arteriovenous malformations

A cerebral arteriovenous malformation means a vascular malformation between arteries and veins of the brain forming what is called a «nidus», in which the pressure is abnormally high causing a risk of bleeding by rupture of the vascular wall estimated between 1 and 5 %/year. These may be more or less large malformations associated with variable venous drainage. Likewise, their localization can be deep or more superficial in the brain and all of these criteria allow us to classify them and assess the therapeutic risk. Depending on the clinical presentation, AVM will be diagnosed urgently or in consultation and a decision will be proposed for its management, based on two options, radiological monitoring or specific treatment. The latter is based on three modalities which are microsurgery, embolization and radiosurgery.