There are several advanced treatment options for life-threatening brain tumors, aneurysms and strokes. Coiling is a less-invasive procedure that generally is safer than traditional surgical options and can offer patients immediate pain relief and less recovery time.

An interventional neuroradiologist can treat a brain aneurysm under the guidance of the biplane system without having to perform an open brain surgery. A brain aneurysm is a serious medical condition where an abnormal, outward swelling of an artery in the brain can rupture, causing a serious stroke or death. Bleeding aneurysms can compress surrounding brain tissue or cranial nerves, which cause many patients to describe it as “the worst headache of my life.”

Rupture can be prevented with a technique called coiling, which closes off the blood flow into the aneurysm by packing it tightly with detachable platinum coils. The doctor uses the X-ray guidance to insert the platinum coils into the aneurysm through a catheter from the groin extending to the brain. This amazing procedure is saving lives and recovery takes only one to two days compared to weeks for the open brain surgery.

One especially important application is for the treatment of strokes, the third leading cause of death in the United States and perhaps the greatest cause of disability. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel is blocked and blood flow to that part of the brain is severely reduced or has stopped. That part of the brain stops functioning and may die if the blood vessel is not reopened.

The neurologists and neuroradiologists at the Brain and Spine Institute can perform several advanced treatments, depending on how much time has passed since the blockage started. Within three hours, a clot-busting drug can be given through a vein. Within six hours, a catheter can be placed into the blocked vessel (like an angiogram) and a clot-busting drug is injected into the clot.

Click here to learn more about Interventional Neuroradiology at UT Medical Center.