Quote:
Originally Posted by Cherie
Rex,
Not trivializing at all! AVM (and aneurysms) can be life threatening.
I was responding to Chris in what I thought was a calming manner about her AVM. She has one, it is being watched, and her doc thinks it might have always been there , is small, and is not likely ever to cause a problem. You were the one who magnified things by showing the horrific AVM example which is a worst case, life threatening scenario.
My sister has an AVM and a benign brain tumor. Neither is being looked at as something to correct. Neither seems to be affecting level of function. My dad, on the other hand, has a tiny aneurysm on the carotid artery. Because of its location, it is likely to need intervention soon.
Teri Garr: IF the aneurysm was in the brain with the MRI, MRA, SPECT and PET scans done, there is no doubt in my mind that they knew about it. In fact, that may be why she had it repaired.
Now, please stop the hair splitting (mine's thin enough already) and accept the fact that I spoke from some knowledge of the situation with Chris and also some knowledge of the testing Teri had undergone in the previous year. You apparently had neither so spoke out of concern.  |
I'll leave you to your speculation, Cherie. I'm certainly not trying to split hairs. But I will say that SPECT and PET will not reveal a brain aneurysm. MRI might and it might not. The MRA would show an aneurysm, provided the lesion existed at the time of imaging. When did Teri have her MRI and MRA scans?
Radiologists tend to call any blood vessel that looks funny an AVM; it's become something of a catch-all, usually written as "most likely represents a small AVM." These things don't come with labels on them, so the radiologist takes his best guess; the more brains you look at, the more you realize that there are a myriad of common anatomical variations which are "of no clinical significance."
OTOH, any aneurysm is a significant finding, no matter how small it is.
rex