An Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an unusual knot of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins, which interrupts the normal blood supply and oxygen circulation.
An American singer Drake white revealed that he has been diagnosed with AVM, a rare brain disorder in January and is presently undergoing medical treatment for the condition.
In the case of this American singer, the AVM was the size of a large ice cream cone, which was located on the back of the right part of the brain. It produced numbness and sensory problems on the left side of his body.
Nashville-based neurosurgeon Dr. Robert Mericle clarified, “It becomes like a big ball of spaghetti and can end up stealing blood from the brain.” This neurosurgeon has been treating White since his diagnosis in January.
Dr. Mericle informed people “As one gets older, these vessels often get weaker and due to the intense pressure, can lead to a rupture or bleeding or a stroke,”
“That morning, I had worked out and went to a lunch meeting, and that’s when the headache started,” White, 35, recalled in an interview with people back in July. “By 2 p.m. I was in bed seeing spots in my left eye, and that’s when my left side started going numb. I tried to sleep it off but woke up with the same intense headache.” The singer recalled in an interview in July.
There is no need to panic, remember, not every headache is a result of AVM.
“Sometimes, a headache is just a headache,” said Dr. Mericle, observing that people suffering from AVMs can also have seizures or signs of epilepsy before diagnosis.
Since then, White has undergone four embolization procedures, one of which was performed just four days before he came to collapsing .Dr. Mericle was confident about knocking out 75% of the mass.
“Drake’s AVM was pretty big,” stated Dr. Mericle. “Most AVMs require about three surgeries to get all of it, but we had to do more for him. Even when it’s gone, we will need to follow it for a couple of years to ensure we got it all.”
Even though the malformation in the singer’s case was treated using embolization procedures, there several other options for AVM.
Dr. Mericle said, “Another way is to use stereotactic radiosurgery in which we focus the radiation to the brain AVM,”. “This can be only used if the AVM is small, and Drake’s AVM was anything but small when it was discovered. The third option is surgery in which we would open the skull and surgically remove the AVM from the brain.”
In spite of suffering so much, this American singer has maintained a relaxed and tolerant attitude about his health condition. He also joked with people about his faith in improving at math or play the guitar well once he is cured of AVM. “It’s certainly possible, but no one has proven that,” said Dr. Mericle added. “There is increased blood flow to the brain once the AVM is treated, but we haven’t proven anything in stone. But yes, I understand why Drake would think along those lines.”
