MR-ANGIOGRAPHY IN THE FOLLOW-UP OF INTRAC RANIAL ARTERIOVENOUS-MALFORMATIONS TREATED BY THE ENDOVASCULAR METHOD

The purpose of our work was to measure the accuracy and reliability of MR-Angiography in the study and follow-up of intracranial arterioveno us malformations, and in particular to evaluate the results of endovas cular treatment. Over an 18-month period 4 patients with such malforma tions were examined by MR-Angiography. There was an angioma of the cor pus callosum, a left parieto-rolandic angioma, a posterior thalamic an gioma and a cerebellar angioma. All examinations were performed with a Magneton-Impact 1 Tesla machine (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany), using a head coil, MR-Angiography with time-of-flight sequences and different ial arterial and venous saturations. Each patient was examined by MR-A ngiography first at the beginning of treatment, then when ambulatory a fter embolization. The morphological study applied to the afferent ves sels, the nidus and the efferent veins. MR-Angiography proved to be ve ry good in identifying the arteries feeding the malformation, and this made it easier to evaluate the reduction of their input after treatme nt, without having recourse to any arteriography. Beside, analysis of the nidus was facilitated by the judicious arrangement of arterial and venous saturations. In fact, the systematic use of MR-Angiography in the follow-up of intracranial arteriovenous malformations makes it pos sible to measure, with full reliability, the efficacy of the endovascu lar treatment under conditions of comfort unequalled in these out-pati ents, and selective angiography sequences need to be performed only du ring therapeutic phases.