Description:
Intracranial aneurysms are dilated blood vessels within the skull. Usually, the cause is unknown but people with genetic causes of weak blood vessels are more likely to develop aneurysms.
Rupture of intracranial aneurysms causes subarachnoid haemorrhage and has a poor prognosis. About 30% of people die within 24 hours and a further 25-30% die within 4 weeks.
The traditional treatment for ruptured or unruptured aneurysms involves open surgery to clip the abnormal blood vessels inside the skull.
The coil technique involves approaching the aneurysm from inside the diseased blood vessel, avoiding the need to open the skull. The coil technique is therefore an endovascular technique. A thin tube containing the coil on a guidewire is inserted into a large artery, usually in the groin, and passed up into the skull under radiological guidance. The coil is placed inside the aneurysm and detached from the guidewire. Multiple coils may be placed into the aneurysm through the same tube until the aneurysm is densely packed
The coil technique is mainly carried out on ruptured aneurysms but may also be used to treat unruptured aneurysms.
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