Once a decision has been taken to treat a brain aneurysm there are broadly two ways this can be accomplished. The goal is to permanently prevent blood from entering the aneurysm dome from its parent artery. Endovascular treatment is delivered through the blood vessel and the aneurysm is closed from within. Microsurgical treatment repairs and reinforces the blood vessel from the outside.
At this practice each person is treated on a case-by-case basis. The full range of endovascular and microsurgical treatments for brain aneurysms are available and delivered by a highly-experienced team. It is often the case that a joint consultation with the neurovascular surgeon and interventional neurloradiologist ahead of a treatment is recommended.
It may be that one particular treatment is recommended as having the optimal balance of safety and efficacy. On other occasions there may be more equipoise with strengths and drawbacks to with any of the available appoaches. We seek to educate potential patients first and allow time for reflection and questions. Ultimately we seek a shared decision on the optimal way forward.
We endeavour not to recommend novel devices to treat aneurysms unless there is strong evidence supporting their use over established methods and in the event such a device is considered you will be thoroughly appraised of the alternatives we have available.
The buttons below will take you to pages with more detail about the various types of treatment. There are images from surgical procedures so viewer discretion is advised.