Health
Fact-checked

At TheHealthBoard, we're committed to delivering accurate, trustworthy information. Our expert-authored content is rigorously fact-checked and sourced from credible authorities. Discover how we uphold the highest standards in providing you with reliable knowledge.

Learn more...

What is a Cavernoma?

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

A cavernoma is also called a cavernous angioma or hemangioma. The names refer to a condition where people have a clustered group of blood cells, usually in the brain or brainstem, which are widened or dilated and which can get larger over time. About one in 200 people have a cavernoma or multiple ones, and sometimes they are completely asymptomatic. However, because the cavernoma can grow, a couple of things may occur with time. They may bleed from time to time, and may start to impact brain function.

Symptoms that a cavernoma is bleeding and creating problems may come on gradually or rapidly. People might have changes to function of limbs, usually on one side of the body. Some people present with serious headaches, and others are likely to have seizures. Under some circumstances people have noted changes in mood or behavior as the cavernoma impacts function.

Cavernomas are located in the brain or brainstem.
Cavernomas are located in the brain or brainstem.

In most cases, the symptoms of cavernous angioma would be enough to warrant computerized tomography (CT) scans or magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) scans. This is fortunate because both types of scans usually will catch presence of one or more of these lesions. Deciding how to treat is not as simple.

Sometimes the cavernoma is located in an area that is easy to access, and removal of the lesion would not be problematic. Yet this still means performing brain surgery, and if a person recovers from the symptoms associated with bleeding, there may be some reluctance to remove the lesion. At other times symptoms get so severe that removal is absolutely indicated, but if the cavernous hemangioma is located in a hard to reach area of the brain, surgical removal may be very difficult or near impossible. Moreover, in rare instances, people may have multiple lesions instead of just one, and this would make it hard to determine which particular lesion is creating the problem.

If a cavernoma is located in an area of the brain that's easy to access, it can be removed with surgery.
If a cavernoma is located in an area of the brain that's easy to access, it can be removed with surgery.

One treatment that raises dispute in the medical community is stereotactic radiosurgery. This uses radiation in one treatment at the site of the cavernoma to attempt to destroy it. Most doctors recommend that this be used only if all other options fail, since it is not always effective and may cause severe side effects. Use of radiosurgery is normally considered most if a lesion is in an area of the brain that cannot be reached by typical (scalpel) surgery methods.

Many people do not need surgery for a cavernoma. Even people with numerous ones, may live pretty normal lives. Usually doctors take the approach of watchfulness and might only intervene should problems begin to arise.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent TheHealthBoard contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent TheHealthBoard contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon261675

My sister is presenting seizure-like symptoms and an MRI indicates the presence of a cavernoma, however neurologists in South Africa are diagnosing a nervous breakdown. Can anybody help me with this?

BigBloom

@GigaGold

These trained professionals are also apprehensive about the rise of robotic forms of medical aid. If people had their own way to check up daily, using cutting-edge technology, they would be safer. The doctors fear that they would be out of a job, however. People's excessive fondness of money can be a hindrance to new advances.

GigaGold

Cysts and cellular buildups of this type can go undetected for a long time, and that is why it is important to get regular checkups and physicals. Trained professionals are able to diagnose these things and can greatly aid in your well-being, preventing dangerous diseases before they strike in force.

anon133437

i had two seizures in August and a week after a scan found out i had a cavernoma on right side of my brain and had to be removed by head surgery which would be a slight cut with about 10 staples. After the surgery when i woke up, i had 51 staples and a cut from the front of my forehead in a circle to the top of my head which then ended below my right ear. my face, eyes and neck were swollen and black and blue. apparently they discovered two cavernomas in my brain.

i am now out of the hospital and the bruising is gone. my eyes still get very puffy as if i have saggy skin around my eyes. i also got an eye infection in and outside my eye two weeks after i got home.

i don't sleep at all and cannot relax on the sofa all day while recovering. i also can't drive for a year and am on seizure tablets for a year. i was never sick before so i had no gp. i got one when i was released but still hospital has not sent my files to my gp.

Post your comments
Login:
Forgot password?
Register:
    • Cavernomas are located in the brain or brainstem.
      By: weim
      Cavernomas are located in the brain or brainstem.
    • If a cavernoma is located in an area of the brain that's easy to access, it can be removed with surgery.
      By: Alex Yeung
      If a cavernoma is located in an area of the brain that's easy to access, it can be removed with surgery.
    • Gamma knife radiosurgery may be used to treat a cavernoma if the area of the brain cannot be reached through surgery.
      By: Monkey Business
      Gamma knife radiosurgery may be used to treat a cavernoma if the area of the brain cannot be reached through surgery.
    • An MRI may be able to detect the presence of cavernous angioma.
      By: jovannig
      An MRI may be able to detect the presence of cavernous angioma.
    • The symptoms of cavernoma should be enough to warrant using a CT scan to investigate further.
      By: Paylessimages
      The symptoms of cavernoma should be enough to warrant using a CT scan to investigate further.
    • In some cases, blood collected during surgery for cavernoma removal may be transfused back into the body.
      By: sudok1
      In some cases, blood collected during surgery for cavernoma removal may be transfused back into the body.