Does anyone know why brain AVMs can be removed surgically but an extremity one we r always told that’s a bad idea? Just curious.
Brain tissue is very compact, brain avms tend to be focal, and it is easier to achieve complete removal in the brain. AVMs in the extremities run through many types of tissue -- muscle, nerve, bone-- and tend to be larger and more diffuse. If you can't get the whole thing removed, specialized cells in the endothelial lining of the avm that is left can actually convert normal adjacent vessels into avm vessels. You can wind up with a larger and more complex avm than you had before surgery.
Great explanation and great question. I've always wondered that, too.
Excellent question. Thanks Dancermom for clarifying in simple terms.
Thank you!! That makes a lot of since.