Endovascular treatment of intracranial arteriovenous malformation.

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) of the brain are vascular lesions in which an abnormal tangle or nidus of vessels permits pathologic shunting of blood flow from the arterial to the venous tree without an intervening capillary bed. With brain imaging techniques, an increasing number of AVMs are detected before they hemorrhage, leading to new considerations and modifications of interdisciplinary management strategies. Treatment options include endovascular embolization, microsurgical resection, radiosurgery, medical management, or a combination of these. Neuroendovascular therapy is a critical component of this multidisciplinary and multimodal approach. The development and introduction of newer techniques and agents will continue to affect embolization treatments.