MRI interpretation help while waiting for doctor

Question

My daughter got an MRI last night hoping to find out a cause for her headaches.  For a couple reasons, Chiari was suspected, so she had an MRI with contrast.  Her appointment with the neurologist isn't until September 20th, so I am hoping someone might share an off-the-cuff opinion.  

It says this:  "The midline structures are positioned normally.  There is no abnormal signal seen within the brain or brainstem.  Normal flow voids remain present within the major intracranial arteries and dural venous sinuses.  There are no extra-axial fluid collections, no evidence for acute infarct or acute intracranial hemorrhage.  There is an inconsequential developmental venous anomaly within the left cerebellar hemisphere.  Otherwise, there is no mass or abnormal enhancement."

Does this rule out Chiari?  What is a "developmental venous anomaly", and can it cause headaches?  

Any help would be appreciated, and I promise not to take it as medical advice. :)

Kayera · Accepted Answer

It looks like its a common malformation of the vein. From what I have read, it is only an issue if there is a tumor with it, and the mri shows there is not. Its called DVA for short and if you type it in the web browser there is quite a bit of info on it. Here is a little piece I copy/pasted for you.

.


A developmental venous anomaly (DVA) also known as cerebral venous angioma, is a congenital malformation of veins which drain normal brain. They were thought to be rare pre cross sectional imaging, however are now recognised as being the most common cerebral vascular malformation, accounting for 50 - 63% of all such lesions 1. 

It is characterised by a caput medusa sign of veins draining into a single larger collecting vein, which in turn drains into either a dural sinus or into a deep ependymal vein. The appearance has also been likened to a palm tree. 

Hope this helps. 

Btw-  I dont see any indication of Chiari on the MRI but then again, I need help reading my own at times. :-)

Granberry · Answer

Thanks to you both! I am reading up on these now, and I have read several times that the main symptom they may have - if any - is headaches, seizure, or ataxia.  I wonder if this is the cause of her severe headaches that form in the back of her head.

Is an MRI with contrast always diagnostic of Chiari?  I hope so.  She also has a leftward curve of her thoracic spine which is uncommon, and 55% of the time, people with a curve like that have Chiari.  I thought we had ruled that out 8 years ago when she was 11, but it turns out we hadn't.  I hope we have this time, but on the other hand, I also hope we can find out why her head hurts.

Sexybare · Answer

I had my 2nd pfd on aug 20th and I had 2 venous things. One on each side of my dura that my ns had to fix. Unless opened durig surgery, they are harmless and need no fixing otherwise.

Kayera · Answer

Oh ya, and I read that they are not usually symptomatic. "usually" key word, huh.

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