I am new to this board and hope someone can give me information on a cerebral angiogram. I have been diagnosed with a left parietal arteriovenous malformation. The neurologist I have been referred to is questioning my MRI/MRA results - he is uncertain whether it is an AVM or a tumor. Neither is great news! I am in New Hampshire so I will be referred to a hospital in Boston, Massachusetts once the results are in. If anyone has personal information on angiograms or neurosurgical practices in Boston, I would be grateful.

don't know about boston but i do know about AVMs and angios,i guess thats something.angios are not too bad,i have had to have like four or five at this point.one was done on what was thought to at first be an actual AVM inside of my spinal cord.after the angio tho,it was determined to only be the veinous counterpart of AVM, a cavernous hemangioma.both are vascular malformations but the AVM is arterially fed.i would think if you actually did have an MRA they would have been able to at least determine an AVM form an actual tumor?this could also be a cavernous hemangioma if it didn't show arterial structure upon MRA.i just don't see how they could not have determined that part ya know?a tumor in most cases is a solid mass not actual blood vessels which is what an AVM is,a big globby tangle of arterial blood vessels.it would be pretty simple to see that,thats why i am wondering.the angio will be able to determine at least whether or not this would indeed be AVM.if it "lights up" upon addition of that contrast dye,it would be arterially fed and most likely an AVM.

the angio procedure is pretty straight forward.it usually takes (itself) about maybe 45 minutes or so?of course you have to go thru all the prep stuff before hand,that actually takes longer than the freakin procedure.just getting ready and starting the IV and other pre stuff,lots of question and answer crap?they will sedate you usually with a combo of fentanyl and versed.this works real well.it doesn't really "hurt'(the actual angio?) per se,just a few little key times.they just want you really relaxed.but obtaining the angio will give the neurorads the info they need to really be able to tell what this actually is and the best possible ways to treat it,if it needs treating.there are some threads on this brain site that you can look for probably just using the keywords angiogram or angio?some AVM info too,try searching just AVM.alot of people here have had them(angios and AVMs).if you have any other questions,i am usually hanging around once a day in the morning,there are other people here too with a huge amount of knowledge on many neuro related issues having to do with the brain.i hope all goes well for you,please keep me posted,K?marcia

Marcia, thanks for the reply. I was diagnosed with an cerebral AVM based on results from my MRI/MRA. However, my neuro looked at an MRI from 2005 and the mass was not visible. The angio is supposed to positive identify what this small area in my left parietal lobe. The MRI/MRA was done to rule out stroke since I had numbness/weakness in my left arm and leg and vision difficulty but a stroke was ruled out. This new neuro isn't sure that ruling out the stroke was accurate. Seems like there's more confusion that I previously thought!

Anyway, I'm scheduled for the angio on Wednesday but I started a sore throat and laryngitis last night. Will this cause a postponement? I have had two cardiac caths so I guess I somewhat familiar with the procedure but I've been told by the neuro that the entry point will not be my groin but my arm. I don't know if that's better or worse.

Thanks again for the info and your kind words of support.