1997 Volume 10 Issue 4 Pages 202-205
Transcranial Doppler (TCD) findings in a neonatal girl with a scalp arteriovenous malformation (AVM) are reported. She was born with a large scalp AVM in the left temporal region, which caused uncontrollable cardiac failure. Preoperative color Doppler showed that the AVM was fed only by the external carotid artery, and that the flow velocity in the left middle cerebral artery (MCA) was lower than that in the right MCA. The left superficial temporal artery was ligated, followed by surgical resection of the AVM 37 days after birth. TCD findings demonstrated a transient rise in the left MCA flow velocity immediately after resection and its subsequent normalization. The pulsatility index of the straight sinus was preoperatively high and became normal after resection. These TCD findings suggested improvement of both the blood flow in the left MCA region and intracranial venous circulation after resection of the AVM. TCD proved to be a noninvasive and useful monitor of neonatal and infantile vascular disorders.
