Pulmonary embolization and infarction. An iatrogenic complication of transcatheter embolization of a cerebral arteriovenous malformation with polyvinyl alcohol sponge.

Transcatheter embolization therapy of vascular abnormalities is a well-accepted technique. It is particularly useful in the preoperative management of cerebral arteriovenous malformations, in which the risk of significant hemorrhage at surgery would otherwise be unacceptably high. A patient developed symptomatic pulmonary emboli and infarction following an uneventful embolization using polyvinyl alcohol particles. The authors believe this to be the first reported case of this complication of embolic therapy using polyvinyl alcohol.