Hi there. I’m wondering if anyone knows if a brain AVM is considered a tumour ?
Also. Does anyone have ringing in ears at different times and severe tinnitis?
Jaylah,
Hello! Welcome to AVM survivors!
No, an AVM is not a tumour. Some of the same methods are used to treat an AVM as for a tumour – e.g. surgery or radiotherapy – but they are not related.
An AVM is most often considered a malformation of the blood vessels that happened when you were developing in the womb. However, I believe things like an arteriovenous fistula in the dura (DAVF) is considered more likely to be developed through life. I have a DAVF.
I have had decent tinnitus for a long time, which I believe was driven by having to sit in front of some music speakers at a nightclub / venue donkeys years ago. I did gain something called “pulsatile tinnitus” in about 2015, which is a squirting sound, every heartbeat. That was a signal from my DAVF. It was pumping blood into my transverse sinus and then through my sigmoid sinus, which passes by the ear.
After an embolisation of the DAVF in 2017, my regular tinnitus increased in volume, though the whoosh, whoosh of the PT has stopped. I have to say, I’ve relaxed a lot more over the intervening years and if I ignore my tinnitus, it is a lot quieter than if I listen to it.
What have you been told about your AVM / what stage of diagnosis etc are you at?
Very best wishes,
Richard
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Hi, you have been through so much like many here. I sure appreciate your time in answering me. I’m green lol
So. The 2nd mri w contrast on April 3rd: blooming artifact in the cortex of the para sagittal right superior frontal Gyrus Again seen. Small abnormal appearing artery. Vascular malformation AVM. Blooming artefact would be consistent with small volume associated prior haemorrhage.
A fistula or venous malformation with associated haemorrhage could also produce these appearances but is less likely. Neurosurgery referral and a catheter directed angiogram is recommended. A fistula or venous malformation with associated haemorrhage could also produce these appearances but is less likely. Neurosurgery referral and a catheter directed angiogram is recommended
Jaylah,
Hi! Do you understand any of that? It’s very medical language, isn’t it? My reading of it is that they don’t know exactly what you’ve got just there but you’ve got an unusual looking artery and signs of a previous bleed. In common with everybody here, your next step is to have an angiogram, using a catheter. This means that they insert a tiny tiny tube in at your wrist or groin, navigate that up to the suspicious artery, inject some contrast material and take a bunch of pictures on x-ray. This will show where the blood is flowing through that artery and whether it is going somewhere unusual.
An AVM is a join from your artery directly back into a vein, without going through a set of capillary beds. The problem with an AVM is that veins are low pressure vessels and not designed to take arterial pressure blood, so can rupture, giving you a stroke. Your doctors believe you’ve already had a bleed, which is the “bloom” that they can see on MRI. However, there are other reasons for a bleed and it may be you don’t have an AVM, so they want to get you checked out.
I’m in the UK, so we have a free-at-point-of-use health care system, like you. Similarly, you have to wait longer for treatment. What I’d say is that we often think of these things as urgent as well as important but the neurosurgeons are probably looking at you as not urgent yet, so you end up waiting. I do think that since you have already had a bleed, you ought to be more urgent than I was and I would always say that if you get any sudden or severe symptoms you should go straight to Emergency. Meanwhile, if things change for you, keep on at the doctors to make sure that they are prioritising you appropriately.
My story of waiting is here, in two parts.
I hope this is helpful. If you are worried about anything, talk. Many of us have been through the same worries and found ways to cope.
Sending you very best wishes,
Richard
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Hey Jaylah,
We are all ‘green’ when we start this journey. None of us go into this with ALL of the knowledge. We’re all learning as we travel this route.
I have to agree with DickD, “…they want to get you checked out.”
Some neuros get a bit ansy when radiologists make a complete diagnosis. The radiologist’s role is to take images and write a report on those images. It’s the neuros role to give a diagnosis, using all of the relevant information ie Angio reports, CT scans, MRI scans, medical history etc
I also have to agree with DickD in regard to some of the language used in these reports is all medical jargon. When someone says ‘artefact’ to me I think ‘Something old’ like an Egyptian artefact. 'What? there’s something real old in my head???
When I first saw the word ‘Artefact’ on the scan report, my initial response was ‘PANIC’. But in radiological terms the word ‘Artefact’ means something of interest or something for further investigation. In my case, during surgery, I had a small bleed and post surgery, the collection of blood showed as an ‘artefact’ on the scan. As time went past the collection of blood dissipated and the artefact disappeared from the scan.
I think it’s natural to go down the ‘Worst case scenario’ line (Well, I did anyway). But it’s much better to have all of the information explained to you by your neuro, in more simple layman’s terms. It can reduce the stresses 10 fold.
Hope it helps
Merl from the Moderator Support Team
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This explains a lot and gives me quite a bit of relief. Thank you 
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