Venous angioma, also called anomaly of venous development, is a benign congenital change in the brain characterized by malformation and abnormal accumulation of some veins in the brain that are usually more enlarged than normal.
In most cases, venous angioma does not cause symptoms and, therefore, is detected by chance, when the person does a CT scan or MRI to the brain for another reason. As it is considered benign and does not cause symptoms, venous angioma does not need any treatment.
Despite this, venous angioma can be severe when it causes symptoms such as seizures, neurological problems or bleeding, and must be surgically removed. Surgery to cure venous angioma is only done in these cases because there is a greater risk of sequelae, depending on the location of the angioma.
Symptoms of venous angioma
Venous angioma does not usually cause symptoms, however in some cases the person may experience a headache. In rarer cases where the venous angioma is more extensive or compromises the correct functioning of the brain, other symptoms may appear, such as seizures, vertigo, tinnitus, numbness on one side of the body, problems with vision or hearing, tremors or decreased sensitivity, for example.
As it does not cause symptoms, venous angioma is only identified when the doctor requests an image exam, such as computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, to diagnose migraine, for example.
How treatment should be
Due to the fact that venous angioma does not cause symptoms and is benign, in most cases it is not necessary to carry out specific treatment, only medical monitoring. However, when symptoms are observed, in addition to follow-up, the neurologist may recommend the use of medications for their relief, including anti-convulsants.
Possible sequelae and complications
Complications of venous angioma are usually related to the degree of malformation and localization of the angioma, in addition to being more common as a result of surgery. Thus, according to the location of the venous angioma, the possible sequelae are:
If surgery is necessary, the sequelae of venous angioma, which vary according to their location, can be:
- Located in the frontal lobe: there may be difficulty or inability to perform more specific movements, such as pressing a button or holding the pen, lack of motor coordination, difficulty or inability to express oneself by speaking or writing; Located in the parietal lobe: it can result in problems or loss of sensation, difficulty or inability to recognize and identify objects; Located in the temporal lobe: there may be hearing problems or hearing loss, difficulty or inability to recognize and identify common sounds, difficulty or inability to understand what others are saying; Located in the occipital lobe: there may be visual problems or loss of vision, difficulty or inability to recognize and visually identify objects, difficulty or inability to read due to not recognizing the letters; Located in the cerebellum: there may be problems with balance, lack of coordination of voluntary movements.
Due to the fact that surgery is associated with complications, it is only recommended when there is evidence of cerebral hemorrhage, when angioma is associated with other brain injuries or when the seizures that arise as a result of this angioma are not resolved with the use of medications.
