Interventional Radiology

An intracranial aneurysm is a weak spot on a blood vessel in the brain that balloons out and fills with blood. The bulging aneurysm can put pressure on a nerve or surrounding brain tissue or it may rupture. Cerebral aneurysms can occur anywhere in the brain, but most are located along a network of arteries that runs between the underside of the brain and the base of the skull.

Endovascular treatment of brain aneurysms involves insertion of a catheter into the femoral artery in your leg and navigating it into the head and into the aneurysm. Tiny platinum coils are threaded through the catheter and deployed into the aneurysm, blocking blood flow into the aneurysm and preventing rupture. The coils are flexible enough to conform to the aneurysm shape. This endovascular coiling, or filling, of the aneurysm is usually performed under general anesthesia.