Saturday, March 22, 2008

Vein of Galen Malformation






The Vein of Galen Malformation is where the blood is going from the artery right into the vein. This vein of galen is big and deep in the back of the brain. Without the blood going through the capillaries it is not slowing down at all like it is supposed to. Also it is not exchanging the oxygen with all the tissue that is around. With this blood going so fast right to the heart, it is leading to congestive heart failure.


This is seen in babies. Some are seen during an ultrasound but many are not known until after birth. They are noticed soon after birth due to rapid heart failure. Another problem is the infants are experiencing hydrocephalus. The treatment for this is embolization. They go in through the back of the brain and through the arteries. Then either coils, particles, or a glue in injected to stop the blood flow in the malformation. This usually does not work completely after the first time. After it has been done enough to cut the blood flow off then the kid will most likely lead a normal life.




My information was found on:
Pictures found on the following:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://alwaysfamily.com/kiera/vein_of_galen_pre_small.jpg&imgrefurl=http://alwaysfamily.com/kiera/Vein%2520of%2520Galen%2520Malformations.htm&h=138&w=150&sz=10&hl=en&start=9&um=1&tbnid=M930xCqqOePVUM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvein%2Bof%2Bgalen%2B%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.neurosurgery.ufl.edu/Images/DPArt9.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.neurosurgery.ufl.edu/Patients/galen.shtml&h=248&w=275&sz=41&hl=en&start=27&um=1&tbnid=l2kMO2G6NYfObM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dvein%2Bof%2Bgalen%2B%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Angiofibroma

Angiofibroma is also know as a juvenile naopharyngeal angiofibroma. The angiofibroma is a very agressive tumor that is benign and located in the posterior part of the nasal cavity. It occurs in males and begins around the age of puberity. They say the tumor has something to do with testosterone and why it is found in males. It is not a very common tumor and only makes up .5 percent of all tumors in the head region. It is a very vascular tumor and because of this a symptom is bleeding from the nose. Some other symptoms include nasal blockage or problems due to the tumor growing into other spaces such as the sinuses or orbits. These are easily seen on MRI or CT's. They will just keep growing and will displace structures as it goes. To treat this tumor surgery is done and maybe radiation therapy.
My information found on the following websites: