Teen’s blood vessel tangle threatened her life.
In 1996, Veronica White was one of very few pre-teens in Canadian medical history to be diagnosed with an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). An AVM is a tangle of malformed blood vessels that can result in seizures, headaches, paralysis – and in a small percentage of patients – disability or death. Facing surgery at age 18, Veronica was told that the cure was immediate but the risks were high. She wasn’t sure she would see her 19th birthday.
Fortunately for Veronica, her AVM was found to have shrunk considerably, making for easier excision. For Veronica, her family and friends, it was an answer to prayer and the end of a long nightmare. Veronica is now in university, fulfilling her dream to become a music therapist. Of her health care team at Toronto Western Hospital, she says, “the staff is awesome. I owe them my life because it’s like they gave me a new one.”
The Neurointerventional Radiology Program at Toronto Western Hospital ranks with the best in the world. Since the early 1980s, specialists at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre have pioneered image-guided technologies and developed surgical techniques that have revolutionized the field.
A totally integrated imaging and treatment environment is equipped with the most sophisticated 3-D angiography system, high-powered MRIs and now Gamma Knife radiosurgery. Here, neurointerventional specialists diagnose and treat some of the most complex neurovascular conditions including stroke, aneurysms and AVMs.
