Coil Treatment for Aneurysms may be Better Than Brain Surgery

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Treating burst aneurysms by blocking them with platinum coils could offer better survival to patients than invasive brain surgery.

Platinum coils are fed through a tiny puncture wound in the groin into the blood vessels to the aneurysm. Coils are used to occlude the aneurysms, reducing the incidence of rupture.

The traditional neurosurgical approach involves a type of brain surgery called craniotomy and clipping of the aneurysm to stop further bleeding.

In a study involving 2,143 patients from Europe, North America and Australia, investigators found 250 of 1,063 patients who received the coiling treatment were dead or dependent at one year, compared with 326 of 1,055 patients (30.9 percent) who received neurosurgery. Patients assigned to coiling also have a lower risk of seizures.

"Minimally invasive endovascular coil treatment of ruptured brain aneurysms, when a patient is in good clinical condition and the aneurysm is suitable for coiling, is more likely to lead to independent survival at one year than neurosurgical clipping," researchers say.

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SOURCE: The Lancet, 2005;366:783-817