ABSTRACT
There has been rapid and widespread development of vascular interventional radiological techniques and devices. This chapter outlines their role in maxillofacial surgery. Pre-operative occlusion of surgically inaccessible arterial feeders reduces blood loss and improves visualization of the limits of the lesion making curative excision more likely and, provided surgery is carried out soon after embolization, peripheral recruitment of feeders should not be a problem. In addition to oromaxillofacial surgeons and interventional radiologists, the expertise of numerous specialists, drawn from dermatology, diagnostic radiology, ear, nose and throat ophthalmology, paediatrics, plastic and reconstructive surgery, pathology and neurosurgery will be required to deal optimally with these complex lesions. First, an understanding of the classification and the role of imaging in the diagnosis of head and neck vascular malformations is essential. Useful information may be obtained from ultrasound and computed tomography but magnetic resonance imaging is the examination of choice.
