How angioarchitecture of cerebral arteriovenous malformations should influence the therapeutic considerations.

PURPOSE To evaluate the angioarchitectural criteria of complex cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), concerning the risk of hemorrhage and therapy planing. METHODS The magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and neuroangiographic findings of 227 AVMs (223 patients) were retrospectively evaluated. Statistical analysis was used to define the relative frequency of these lesions for hemorrhage in correlation with various parameters (i.e. age of the patient, size, location, associated aneurysms). RESULTS Onset of symptoms was between 21 and 40 years of age in 50% of cases. The ratio of centrally to convexially located lesions was 1:2. Convexial AVMs are classified by MR imaging into sulcal and gy…