Delayed hemorrhage from the tissue of an occluded arteriovenous malformation after stereotactic radiosurgery: report of 3 cases

Stereotactic radiosurgery is widely used to treat cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), with the goal of complete angiographic obliteration. A number of case series have challenged the assumption that absence of residual AVM on follow-up angiograms is consistent with elimination of the risk of hemorrhage. The authors describe 3 cases in which patients who had angiographic evidence of AVM occlusion presented with late hemorrhage in the area of their prior lesions. They compare the radiographic, angiographic, and histological features of these patients with those previously described in the literature. Delayed hemorrhage from the tissue of occluded AVMs has been reported as early as 4 and as late as 11 years after initial stereotactic radiosurgery. In all cases for which data are available, hemorrhage occurred in the area of persistent imaging findings despite negative findings on conventional angiography. The hemorrhagic lesions that were resected demonstrated a number of distinct histological findings. While rare, delayed hemorrhage from the tissue of occluded AVMs may occur from a number of distinct, angiographically occult postirradiation changes. The hemorrhages in the authors' 3 cases were symptomatic and localized. The correlation of histological and imaging findings in delayed hemorrhage from occluded AVMs is an area requiring further investigation.