Treatment of Arteriovenous Malformation AVMs can present with either bleeding or seizures. Some can be excised surgically by experienced surgeons. Large AVMs can be embolized by highly skilled interventionalists, reducing the size of the AVMs to facilitate a surgical attack. Smaller AVMs can be eliminated entirely without surgery using Hermann's new Gamma Knife facility. Angioplasty The Stroke Treatment Team's neurovascular interventional radiologists have been trained to carry out angioplasty on extracranial vessels which are causing symptoms, but cannot be attacked directly by surgery.
Examples are vertebral artery stenosis and distal carotid artery stenosis.
Cerebral Angioplasty and Stenting Cerebrovascular angioplasty with placement of intra arterial stents is a relatively new technique and an exciting area of investigation for the management of atherosclerotic cerebrovascular disease and arterial dissection. This can be used to treat vessels causing symptoms which cannot be attacked directly by surgery or used in patients at high risk for traditional surgical procedures. Examples are vertebral artery stenosis and distal carotid artery stenosis. New technology in experienced hands now makes possible the placement of micro stents within both the intracranial and extra cranial cerebral vessels. Such procedures will likely play an increasing role in stroke prevention as well as in acute stroke therapy.