There is no specific medical therapy for the vein of Galen malformation. In infants where surgical ligation or selective embolization is performed the patient should be reimaged to assess results of the therapeutic intervention. Head circumference measurements should be obtained in patients where a ventriculoperitoneal shunt is performed to treat the hydrocephalus. Patients diagnosed with a vein of Galen malformation should be transferred to a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit where a pediatric neurologist, an interventional neuroradiologist, and a neurosurgeon are available for management of the infant. Over half the patients with a vein of Galen malformation have a malformation that cannot be corrected.
Patients frequently die in the neonatal period or in early infancy.
Cerebral MRI showing large flow void in the central region with enlarged straight sinus. Coronal MRI of head showing large central vein of Galen malformation with moderate degree of hydrocephalus. MRI venogram showing vein of Galen malformation with draining veins. Skull X-Ray showing coils that have been placed during a intravascular embolization of the malformation. Vein of Galen malformation and infantile spasms.