Formation During Lifetime of Arteriovenous Shunt in Developmental Venous Anomaly That Caused Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Developmental venous anomaly (DVA) or venous angioma is a common anomaly of cerebral veins that is found incidentally in the majority of cases. There are few cases of arteriovenous shunting in DVA associated with a more malignant course of the disease. Whether these DVAs with shunts are of congenital pathology or lifetime formations is unclear.

CASE DESCRIPTION: We report a case of lifetime arteriovenous shunt formation in DVA that caused intracerebral hemorrhage in a child. The patient underwent 2 sequential direct surgeries: an emergency evacuation of the intracerebral hematoma and a scheduled excision of the DVA with arteriovenous shunting.

CONCLUSIONS: Arteriovenous shunting in DVA may develop during a lifetime and cause intracerebral hemorrhages. This case showed that localization of DVA with arteriovenous shunting in a noneloquent area enables its complete microsurgical excision with favorable functional outcomes.