Symptomatic vascular malformations: ethanol embolotherapy.

Absolute ethanol was used to perform nine transcatheter embolizations and 21 direct percutaneous puncture embolizations in eight patients with unresectable vascular malformations. Six patients had arteriovenous malformations and two patients had hemangiomas. Four of these patients had undergone unsuccessful surgery, and the other four were not considered candidates for operation. All large complex symptomatic vascular malformations (SVMs) required multiple embolizations that were staged procedures. Ethanol embolotherapy, performed according to strict techniques, has proved efficacious in the management of SVMs.