What Aneurysm Embolization Is
An aneurysm is an area of weakening and bulging of an artery. Blood vessels in the brain are particularly susceptible to aneurysm formation. As an aneurysm grows, its potential to cause significant side effects and/or rupture increases. Some of the clinical symptoms of a brain aneurysm may include nerve paralysis, headaches, neck and upper back pain, nausea, and vomiting. When an aneurysm ruptures, the result may be a life-threatening stroke.
Until recently, surgical clipping was traditionally the method used to repair aneurysms in the brain. However, in 1995 the FDA approved the use of coils to embolize (block off) an aneurysm (termed “coiling”). This procedure offers a minimally-invasive method of treating both ruptured and un-ruptured aneurysms.
With coil embolization, an interventional neuroradiologist threads a catheter (a long, flexible, hollow tube) through a small incision in the groin to the site of the aneurysm. Through this catheter, the physician places numerous soft platinum coils, which are extremely small and soft, into the aneurysm. The body develops a blood clot around the coils. The packed coils and the blood clot effectively prevent blood from entering the aneurysm, essentially eliminating the risk of the aneurysm rupturing (or re-rupturing, in the case of an aneurysm which has already bled).
A stent, which is a small mesh tube, may also be used in this procedure if the neck of the aneurysm is wide. The stent covers the neck of the aneurysm and helps to hold the coils in place. This method of stent placement prior to coil placement has allowed for treatment of certain aneurysms that were previously considered untreatable. In other cases a balloon may temporarily be inflated at the neck of the aneurysm to help hold coils inside the aneurysm.
RIA radiologists perform this innovative procedure at several Denver area hospitals.