We reported 17 cases of AVMs in the basal ganglia and the thalamus. The results of 8 cases of direct surgery are compared with those of 9 non-surgically treated patients in this report. Five of the non-surgically treated patients are doing well and are free from neurological sequele. Only one patient died of rebleeding. In surgically treated patients, six AVMs were totally removed and two were subtotally removed. In all cases of surgical treatment, initial symptoms were caused by hemorrhage. Aphasia and motor weakness caused by hemorrhage improved gradually. In five of six cases where the AVM was totally removed, postoperative neurological deficits temporary worsened, but improved later. All of these patients were able to take care of themselves. Operative indication for AVMs in the basal ganglia and the thalamus is considered to be limited to the patients who had experienced a bleeding episode. In our series, the patients with small AVMs were more likely to have a large hematoma. On the other hand, patients with large AVMs were less likely to have a large hematoma. The surgical indication for ruptured medium sized AVMs should be based on the prospective of the neurological deficits after surgery but on the social state of each patient.
