PurposeThree patients who had cerebral arteriovenous malformations underwent language mapping by positron emission tomography (PET) to identify the dominant hemisphere for language and the spatial relation of lesions to language areas.MethodsMapping was performed to assess the risk that surgery could cause neurologic deficits and to plan other therapeutic strategies.ResultsThe information obtained by PET language mapping changed the course of management for these patients. Two patients were treated with stereotactic radiosurgery and one patient with surgical resection.ConclusionsPET imaging can be a valuable noninvasive tool for mapping the functional cortex and for preoperative planning of different treatment options in patients with arteriovenous malformations.
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