• Elizabeth Wild, James Barry, and Hai Sun.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA.
• World Neurosurg. 2019 Nov 1; 131: 82-86.

BackgroundAn unruptured brain arteriovenous malformation (bAVM) is a complex pathological entity with the potential to lead to disabling or fatal intracranial hemorrhage. The treatment approaches for these lesions have included microsurgical resection, endovascular embolization, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), and medical management or any combination of these modalities. However, the optimal treatment approach for unruptured bAVMs has not yet been determined. In the present case, we used SRS strategically to downgrade an AVM to allow for improved resectability.Case DescriptionA 28-year-old woman had presented with 10 years of headaches and was found to have a Spetzler-Martin grade IV AVM not amenable to resection. She underwent targeted SRS only of the deep portions of the AVM, resulting in a decrease of the AVM to grade III. Subsequent microsurgical resection was successful in complete removal of the AVM. At the 1-year follow-up examination she had no deficits.ConclusionsWe have proposed a protocol of using focused SRS to eliminate the portions of the AVM that confer an increased surgical risk. SRS, followed by microsurgical resection, could represent an optimal treatment strategy for high-grade AVMs with difficult surgical anatomy.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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