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What are the causes?
Aneurysms are often caused by the normal aging of
arteries, but growth can also be caused by smoking, high blood pressure,
kidney disease and connective tissue disorders. Aneurysms can also be
hereditary.
Because an aneurysm may continue to increase in size, along
with progressive weakening of the artery wall, surgery may
be needed. Preventing rupture of an aneurysm is one of the goals of
therapy. The larger an aneurysm becomes, the greater the risk.
There are two primary treatments for a cerebral
aneurysm:
Craniotomy – In about 40 percent of cases, brain surgery with
surgical clipping is necessary. A Mercy neurosurgeon exposes the
aneurysm and places a metal clip across the neck of the aneurysm,
preventing blood flow into the aneurysm sac.
Endovascular coiling or
coil embolization --
Endovascular coiling is a procedure in which a catheter is advanced
using fluoroscopy -- similar to an x-ray “movie” -- from a blood vessel
in the groin up into the blood vessels in the brain. Once the catheter
is in place, tiny platinum coils (or “enterprise stent”) are advanced
through the catheter into the aneurysm, conforming to the shape of the
aneurysm. The coiled aneurysm becomes clotted off (embolization),
preventing rupture. This means that instead of weeks of recovery, the
patient leaves the hospital a day later. The entire procedure take an
hour or two.
Mercy places first stent designed for the brain
Mercy now treats more than 100 brain aneurysms each
year. Even one of the most difficult aneurysms to treat - a wide-necked
aneurysm - can now be treated with a less invasive procedure that places
a stent at the area of the aneurysm with a catheter. Once the stent is
in place, metallic coils are placed inside the aneurysm to decrease the
chance the aneurysm will rupture.
Stent
caption above.
©2007 Boston Scientific Corporation or its affiliates.
All rights reserved. Neurofom3® Microdelivery Stent System is a
Humanitarian Device authorized by Federal law for use with embolic coils
for the treatment of wide-neck, intracranial, saccular aneurysms arising
from a parent vessel with a diameter of >2 mm and <4.5 mm that are not
amenable to treatment with surgical clipping. Wide-neck aneurysms are
defined as having a neck > 4 mm or a dome-to-neck ratio < 2. The
effectiveness of this device for this use has not been demonstrated.
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