Atypical developmental venous anomaly associated with contrast enhancement and hyperperfusion in the surrounding basal ganglia

Developmental venous anomalies (DVAs) are the most common type of cerebral vascular malformations. They are generally accepted as variants of venous development and frequently identified incidentally, particularly on contrast-enhanced MR imaging. Most of the DVAs do not affect the integrity of the surrounding parenchyma. This article discusses an atypical DVA which is associated with contrast enhancement and increased perfusion within the drainage territory of the DVA, probably due to anomalous venous drainage. These unusual perfusion patterns of the DVAs should be differentiated from other entities such as hypervascular brain tumors or ischemia with hemodynamical changes which have different clinical management.