Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound in the Detection and Evaluation of Maxillofacial Arteriovenous Malformation: A Case Report.

Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a kind of congenital endothelial malformation that results from errors in vascular morphogenesis. Here we present a case of maxillofacial AVM in a 19-year-old male for its imaging characteristics on contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). On conventional ultrasound, the lesion was a large subcutaneous mass with abnormal vasculature. On CEUS, it manifested as a “quick wash-in and slow wash-out” enhancement. Moreover, CEUS showed a much larger range of the lesion than gray-scale imaging, with left ophthalmic artery involved. CEUS enabled real-time observation of the microcirculatory perfusion of the lesion and played a very important role in the detection and evaluation of maxillofacial AVM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]