Twenty-five patients with spinal vascular malformations demonstrated by spinal arteriography (21 dural arteriovenous fistulas, 2 perimedullary arteriovenous fistulas and 2 intramedullary arteriovenous malformations) underwent MR imaging and contrast enhanced phase-contrast MR angiography before and after endovascular (n?18) or surgical (n=7) treatment. In 3 patients with dural arteriovenous fistula treated with glue embolization, early post-treatment MR angiography showed persistence of flow in the perimedullary vessels. The patency of the fistula was confirmed by spinal arteriography or surgery in all three patients. In two other patients with dural arteriovenous fistulas treated with glue injection, delayed MR angiography showed flow in perimedullary vessels which was not observable in early post-treatment MR angiography controls. Reopening (“recurrence”) of the fistula was confirmed by arteriography in one patient. In the remaining 16 patients with dural arteriovenous fistula, post-treatment MR angiography showed disappearance of flow in the perimedullary vessels consistent with obliteration of the fistula. This finding was associated with persistent intramedullary signal changes and contrast enhancement in 13 patients and perimedullary contrast enhancing vessels in 6 patients. Arteriography in one of the latter patients showed exclusion of the fistula confirming the result of the posttreatment MR angiography study. In the 4 patients with high flow spinal vascular malformations, all treated with endovascular approach, early post-treatment MR angiography showed reduction or disappearance of flow in the abnormal vessels. This remained unchanged in two patients, where as increased flow in the same vessels was demonstrated by further follow-up MR angiography studies in two patients. Phase contrast MR angiography is a useful complement to MR imaging in the post-treatment evaluation of spinal vascular malformations. An early post-treatment MR-angiography control is recommended as it enables prompt identification of treatment failures and may constitute a reference term for lesion monitoring over time.