Under X-ray guidance, a small tube, a catheter is guided from the femoral artery in the leg up into the area to be treated. A neurological exam is performed before and after a small amount of medicine is injected. This can help tell if the vessel that feeds the AVM also feeds normal and important portions of the brain. After this, a permanent agent is injected into the AVM and the catheter removed. During the embolization, the patient is awake but is made comfortable with the help of the anesthesia team that monitors them and gives them medicines by an intravenous line.
Patients resume their normal full activity immediately upon each discharge.
There may be some mild headache after the embolization related to the blood vessels of the AVM clotting, or some nausea related to some of the medicines that are given. AVMs are a rare condition affecting about 250,000 people in the United States. Much remains to be known. How can one maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of treatments. These questions can only be answered by studies.