Thursday, November 14, 2013

How Safe Is Brain Aneurysm Surgery

Of the two main treatments for a brain aneurysm--opening the skull to manually fix the burst vessel and inserting coils to help it heal itself--surgery may seem like the more dangerous option, but it can actually be safer and lead to a better recovery.


A ruptured brain aneurysm must be treated at once.


A ruptured brain aneurysm is a serious, life-threatening condition, and it must be treated at once. The only question is which of the two treatments is better.


What is done is brain aneurysm surgery?


To treat a ruptured brain aneurysm, a surgeon will open the skull and use a clip to close the base of the aneurysm.


Risks


The largest risk with brain aneurysm surgery is that it is performed too late and brain damage has already occurred. The other main risk is of the aneurysm recurring, and surgery actually has a significantly lower recurrence rate than endovascular coiling, especially with large aneurysms.


On the other hand:


Endovascular coiling does have a shorter recovery time than surgery, but this probably does not outweigh the long term benefits of surgery.








Prognosis








How one recovers from brain aneurysm surgery depends more on how quickly the surgery is performed and one's overall health than on the procedure. Brain aneurysm surgery should be considered the main treatment for brain aneurysms and safer than any others commonly in use.

Tags: brain aneurysm, brain aneurysm, ruptured brain, ruptured brain aneurysm, aneurysm surgery