A 52-year-old man presented with facial swelling owing to progression of arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Angiography under endotracheal anaesthesia showed the right internal maxillary, right ascending pharyngeal and right superficial temporal arteries feeding an AVM (fig 1A). Clear connections to the intracranial circulation were not found. Vessels were embolised using N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate and iodinated oily x ray contrast medium comprising 40% iodine in poppy seed oil (Lipiodol; Terumo, Tokyo, Japan; fig 1B).