If direct surgery is too risky, endovascular surgery may be performed to insert tiny coils or balloons to stop the blood flow. Other treatment includes complete bed rest and medications for headaches, seizures or other problems. Treatment may include speech, physical and occupational therapy, depending on the neurologic injury. Research Research continues to improve radiosurgical techniques so that larger lesions in important areas of the brain can be treated using focused radiation like the Gamma Knife. This gives hope that previously inoperable tumors and AVMs may be amenable to treatment.
Endovascular treatment continues to be promising.
Researchers are looking at new techniques and comparing them with standard surgery. The treatment of brain and spinal arteriovenous malformations is a collaborative effort between the departments of Neurosurgery and Neuroradiology. It is called surgery without a scalpel and requires only one treatment of an average of about an hour. Patients can return to their normal routines within a day of the procedure. It is used to treat brain tumors, AVMs and other problems as well.