Does all people with Epilepsy have AVMS or
the other way around? It has been a month
since his bleed and we are preparing for
surgery. Trying to find as much
information as we can. Epilepsy has never
been mentioned and he had no sign of
seizure. We are in the dark here and any
information would be appreciated. Thanks
Does all people with
Epilepsy have AVMS or the other way
around? It has been a month since his
bleed and we are preparing for surgery.
Trying to find as much information as we
can. Epilepsy has never been mentioned
and he had no sign of seizure. We are in
the dark here and any information would be
appreciated.
Thanks
AVM does cause seizures, but not
necessarily epilepsy. It has not been
known for less than 20% of individuals
with epilepsy to have AVM. So, if he does
happen to have a seizure, I doubt it is
epilepsy since he has had no signs of a
seizure.
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colesmom
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Apr 2007 Posts: 4
Thank You Posted: 04-12-07 16:31pm
Learning a lot in the last month. I want
to find out as much as possible after the
removal of the AVM in the temporal lobe
(close to the brain stem) what we are to
expect. I guess we want to hear
everything will be the same as it is now,
but pretty sure that is not going to be
the case. Praying for the best. Thanks
again in a little more understanding.
Colesmom
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sillyakchick
Moderator
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 2690
Thanks: 4
Thanked:0
Neurosurgery Posted: 04-12-07 16:39pm
I used to work for a group of
neurosurgeons. We had many AVM patients
who made it through surgery and turned out
to be just fine on the other end. I will
send positive energy your way and hope the
result is the same for you!
Arteriovenous malformations are masses of
abnormal blood vessels which grow in the
brain. They consist of a blood vessel
"nidus" (nest) through which arteries
connect directly to veins, instead of
through the elaborate collection of very
small vessels called capillaries. Some
people are born with the nidus, but as the
years go by, it tends to enlarge as the
great pressure of the arterial vessels can
not be handled by the veins that drain out
of it. This causes a large collection of
worm-like vessels to develop (malform)
into a mass capable of bleeding at some
future time. These malformations are most
likely to bleed between the ages of 10 -
55; after 55, the chances of bleeding
diminishes rapidly. Before 55, the
likelihood of hemorrhaging is betweeen 3
and 4% per year (with a death incidence of
about 1%). Once an AVM patient has
hemorrhaged, the risk of having another
one might approach 20% during the first
year, and gradually lessen to about 3 - 4%
over the next few years.
AVM s can occur in any area of the brain,
and may be either small or large. When
they hemorrhage, they usually do so with a
limited amount of blood, unlike the
hypertensive hemorrhages of other stroke
patients. Loss of neurologic function
depends on both the location of the AVM
and the amount of bleeding. Many patients
have very small hemorrhages, often
multiple. They may display convulsions
before even knowing about the presence of
an AVM. Some patients suffer with
headaches, often unrelated to the AVM
which are usually found with a CT scan or
brain MRI. In rare instances, children are
born with large AVM's and are found to
have heart failure because the
malformation makes the heart work beyond
its capacity.
These lesions are surrounded by a very
discrete layer of abnormal, nonfunctioning
brain tissue, thus allowing their removal
with relative safety to the surrounding
brain. This factor is of the utmost
importance to the brain surgeon, who can
take advantage of this natural separation
between normal brain tissue and the
abnormal vascular malformation.
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colesmom
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Apr 2007 Posts: 4
Thank You Posted: 04-12-07 17:48pm
We are being strong and hoping for the
best. Of course your first paragraph is
what we want to hear. You know doctors
they have to tell you all the worse that
can happen, but add that he could come out
fine. You hold you breath and pray.
Thank you again and I will update after
the surgery. They are going to keep him
in a induced coma for one to two days
after the surgery to help the brain heal.
It will be a long two days, wish they
would put me out also
Colesmom
So, if he does
happen to have a seizure, I doubt it is
epilepsy since he has had no signs of a
seizure.
