Angiographically occult vascular malformations in functional areas of the brain. Diagnosis and treatment.

Acute non-traumatic intracerebral bleedings in young adults suggest strongly the presence of vascular malformation. CT Scan reveals the hemorrhage. Some features of the computed tomographic image seem characteristic for an angioma. Definitive diagnosis, however, can be made only after histological examination of the surgically removed tissue, when angiography fails to demonstrate the lesion. Authors advocate surgical management of the angiographically occult vascular malformations even in spite of their location in functional areas of the brain. Four cases are presented.