Originally published September 30 2005
New brain aneurysm treatment may eliminate surgery need
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A new technique that uses intracranial stints and coil embolization to strengthen artery walls in the brain may replace the need for major surgery in the treatment of potentially deadly brain aneurysms.
A second opinion brought Collins to Rush University Medical Center and Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and Neuroresearch (CINN) neuroendovascular specialist Dr. Demetrius Lopes.
Lopes recommended a new approach combining the use of intracranial stents and coil embolization to strengthen the artery with no need to open the skull.
Until recently, people like Collins with wide-necked aneurysms in the brain would not have been candidates for coil embolization, a procedure in which tiny coils are used to close off the aneurysm.
Historically, if the aneurysm was more than 4mm, the "wide neck" of the aneurysm prevented the coil from staying in place on its own and the aneurysm was very likely to return.
The recent introduction of flexible intracranial stents has provided a method of preventing the coil from migrating out of wide-necked aneurysms.
The initial treatment stage involves placement of the stent in the artery across the aneurysm neck.
A study by Lopes, published in the January issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery, found that in 90 percent of his patients, the stent-assisted coil resulted in complete closure of the aneurysm without compromising the parent vessel at least six months after the procedure.
Patients who did not have a ruptured aneurysm prior to treatment may be able to leave the hospital the day after the procedure and return to their normal routine within days.
Rush is noted for bringing together clinical care and research to address major health problems, including arthritis and orthopedic disorders, cancer, heart disease, mental illness, neurological disorders and diseases associated with aging.
Through a network of seven hospitals spanning two states, CINN treats more patients with brain tumors and spine disorders than any other physician group in Illinois.
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