Cavernous Malformations

Overview

At Mayo Clinic, a team of cerebrovascular experts (neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, and radiation oncologists) consult with each other and with patients and their families to decide on the best treatment option for cavernous malformations. Mayo Clinic has comprehensive treatment capabilities, including extensive surgical experience and a world-renowned stereotactic radiosurgery practice.

Diagnosis

Cavernous malformations are generally discovered during an MRI scan. The scan may have been performed to investigate seizures or other neurological problems caused by cavernous malformations, or it may have been done during testing for other diseases. Read more about cavernous malformation diagnosis.

Treatment Options

There are three main treatment options for cavernous malformations (all available at all three Mayo Clinic locations): observation, surgery, and stereotactic radiosurgery. Read more about cavernous malformation treatment options.

• Treatment in Arizona
• Treatment in Florida
• Treatment in Minnesota

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About Cavernous Malformations

Cavernous malformations are groups of abnormal, tiny blood vessels and larger, stretched-out, thin-walled blood vessels filled with blood. Viewed under a microscope, cavernous malformations appear to be composed of fairly large blood-filled "caverns."

These blood vessel malformations may occur in the brain, spinal cord, covering of the brain (dura), or in the nerves of the skull. Cavernous malformations range in size from less than one-quarter inch to the size of a small orange. They occur equally in men and women and have been found in people of almost all ages.

Cavernous malformations tend to grow because of repeated small hemorrhages, or leaking of blood around the abnormal tissue. During surgery, they are usually very distinct from the surrounding normal brain and resemble a mass composed of an old blood clot. There is no normal brain tissue found within these lesions because they tend to push the normal brain tissue out of the way rather than bring it into the malformation.

Although rare, cavernous malformations may run in some families. They seem to occur more frequently in Hispanic people. People are not born with them; they develop over a person's lifetime. They are extremely rare in children, but have developed after radiation therapy in children and adults and following surgical biopsy for other brain lesions.