Question: aneurysm with avm

My husband had his arteriogram on Nov 17 following a seizure at work. He was riding a forklift at time and fell..breaking 3 ribs and separating his shoulder. A CT scan at ER suggested bleeding in two areas of brain. Before and after MRI metastatic melanoma in the brain was the working ddiagnosis. Further tests ruled this out and arteriogram confirmed both an AVM on the right and an aneurysm on left. We see his neurologist tomorrow to talk about results and have already requested a neurosurgical consult.

My question is..should we be more concerned about the aneurysm or the AVM..and are there others out there who had this presentation? Thank you..you have all been very welcoming and the information here and reading others experiences has been SO helpful....
Niki & Craig

I had an aneurysm along with my AVM.I am pretty sure mine was caused by the increased pressure from my AVM. They glued my aneurysm during my AVM embolization. I think the development of aneurysms from AVM's is pretty common, though I have never heard of them being in different hemispheres of the brain. Best of luck to you, I will keep you in my prayers.

Chari had the AVM first, then an MRI after an embo showed an aneurysm (on the opposite side I think). The DRs said it might have been there (small) all along, but the increased flow/pressure after the embo made it swell.

Of the two, aneurysm scare me more. An AVM can go forever without rupturing. Maybe so with an aneurysm too. Might be a toss up. Best if both can be fixed.

Best wishes,
Ron, KS

I have an active AVM & two clipped aneurysms. Due to the AVM's size & location, it was too risky to operate & not a candidate for coiling, either. I've had 3 Gamma Knife radiation treatments to shrink the AVM. Now, we'ere just waiting.

One of my aneurysms was located during my 1st GK treatment. The 2nd aneurysm was found when they had my head open to clip the first.

My AVM & annies are all on the right side of my brain.

angie

AVM = Arteriovenous malformation (abnormal connection between the arteries and veins)
Aneurysm = a weak area in the wall of a blood vessel that causes the blood vessel to bulge or balloon out
It depend on the position and damage it does to the neighboring tissue. some times it rupture and make things complicated. An AVM may lead to aneurysm. My advise is to collect as much as information as you can before consulting neurologist. A second opinion from another neurologist is also helpful.

My AVM was discovered after I had an anuerysm rupture on me actually. I had no idea I had either until I got the worst headache ever and called 911. Both my AVM and my annie are on the right side of my head however they were both feeding off of different arteries and thus considered unrelated. They were able to fix my annie and because my AVM is considered to be at a low risk for rupture and I have no symptoms my docs have all agreed to just keep an eye on it. Gamma Knife has a 75% chance of obliteration but a 5-10% chance of permanent deficit. And they don't really want to do a craniotomy on me since they are concerned it may cause me more issues. As my doc puts it "you look so good right now".

As for what to treat first, i guess it depends on the treatment action they decide on. They could do coil embolization for the annie which is minimally invasive and depending on the grade of the AVM they could do Gamma Knife as a form of treatment that is minimally invasive as well. Personally my Annie scared me more than my AVM does but that is just me.

From my understanding, the anuerysms would be of first concern. When they rupture it's a major blowout, including brain tissue. An Avm can blowout but often leaks more slowly than an anuerysm. When I bled in 1975 they called it an anuerysm. When I was diagnosed with AVM in 2011, neurologist said there was no evidence of an anuerysm, that in 1975 it was a bleed from AVM. Long story short, I think one is more likely to survive an AVM bleed than an aneurysm.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and insights.
The neurologists has referred us to another neurologists/neurosurgeon to answer our questions and concerns.
His thinking us that both the aneurysm and AVM are small so it may be a watch and wait decision with monitoring by MRI.
We see the leading surgeon in our area (from US NEWS report on Friday Dec 7.
He and I are a bit less anxiuos but still concerned.
Thank you for your responses!!
Niko & Craig

Best of luck! Please keep us informed! Whether you like it or not …you are part of the AVM family now and we will worry about you if we do not hear anything!

Thank you Barbara....Will definitely let all know the results and we are happy to be part of the "avm family". Niki

I don't know if it would matter but I'm wondering if the angio showed whether it was the AVM or the aneurysm that bled, or could they tell? I'm thinking if I knew one had bled for sure that would probably make a difference to me, although I'm sure there would be other important factors too.

I have an active AVM with a nearby embolized aneurysm (spinal cord). They were treated at the same time. Is it possible for them to do the same with your husband?

Thank you all. Our spot was moved up to today. Neurosurgeon doesnt believe either the aneurysm or the AVM have bled. They found a cavernous malformation that the initial doctor misread as a bleed. Craig has been referred to a vascular neurosurgein for a consult and treatment options. His AVM is small as is the aneurysm. Both may br candidates for coil embolism treatment or external beam radiation. We see that doc on the 11th. This doc said they were both treatable. Hopefully without a craniotomy but he said AVM is small in the right frontal parietal lobe very near the surface.
next step for me is researching cavernous malformation. Anyone have any insight on these? Thank you Niki and Craig