slide 1: Arteriovenous malformation or AVM is the abnormal connection between the arteries and
veins which appears as tangles and can appear in any part of the brain or spine. Generally
blood flows from the heart through large arteries to all the parts of the body which get
branched into smaller capillaries where the blood exchanges oxygen and nutrients with
the body tissues and picks up waste. The blood then travels back from the capillaries to the
heart through veins. But when a patient is suffering from AVM there are no capillaries to
lead the path. The arteries and veins directly connect to one another which creates high-
pressure shunt or fistula. Direct blood flow from the arteries is not able to be handled by
the veins which is why they stretch and enlarge trying to accept the blood thus resulting in
rupture and bleeding.
Depending upon the type of AVM and where it is formed the symptoms may vary. Some
AVMs have no specific symptoms and have no risk on one’s health or life but there are
others that can have severe and devastating effects. The general symptoms include
migraine-like headaches seizures vomiting stiff neck weakness in legs and arms
paralysis sudden severe back pain and abnormal swishing/ringing sounds in the ears. To
identify what kind of AVM you are suffering from you will need to approach a relevant
slide 2: doctor to diagnose your condition and let you know not only the type of AVM but also the
treatment.
Treatment options for AVM range from medications to aggressive surgery depending upon
the type and symptoms observed within the patient. If the condition is mild the doctors
may use anticonvulsants to prevent seizures and medication to lower blood pressure. But
if the condition is severe surgery is the only option. The most common surgical treatment
is radiosurgery which involves focusing multiple radiation beams on an AVM to clog it.
Another procedure is intravascular therapy which closes off the vessels of an AVM by one
or many non-surgical means for example by using catheters to deliver agents that can
block the blood vessels.
The main advantage of surgical procedures is the possibility of removing the malformation
in a single operation. However surgery is always complicated which requires specially
trained neurosurgeons to perform the job. Any carelessness may result in problems like
stroke infection hemorrhage cerebral edema or even death
God forbid but if you are a victim of AVM make sure you get yourself checked and treated
by an experienced professional. And for any other neurosurgical problems you can always
get in touch with Maitri Hospital where there is a team of specialists in the neurosurgical
department who have hands-on experience at effectively executing skull bone surgeries
burr hole surgeries skull fracture treatments slip disc surgeries spinal cord
decompression meningocoele excision and much more. So when you are being treated
here you can rest assured that you are getting the finest treatment of neurosurgery in
Kota