OT-Brain Aneurysm

[hbananas]

My 5 mm annie on the internal carotid has the ophthalmic artery coming out the side of it.  The doctor who did my angiogram told me it wasn't treatable through endovascular means like coiling because it would cut off blood to the eye.  The surgeon also told me a craniotomy and clipping is riskier than leaving it alone and monitoring it.

At my one year follow-up, the CT Angiogram showed no changes.  The next day I got a call from the doctor's office saying that at the weekly group aneurysm meeting, my case came up, and it could possibly be treated with the relatively new PED (Pipeline Embolization Device), so today I had an appointment with the interventional radiologist to talk it over.

The doctor laid out the options and explained how the device usually lets enough blood through to feed the artery coming off the annie.  The upside of treatment would be that I wouldn't continue to run a 1% annual risk of it bursting and the awful consequences.

The downside would be that there is no way to know for sure whether or not the blood flow to the ophthalmic artery would actually be preserved.  He didn't give a % or anything like that.  I am not willing to risk my eye at this stage of the game.  All the doctors insist the annie has nothing to do with my eye pain.

So, we will continue monitoring.  If it grows, it's nice to know the PED is an option.  Maybe as the base of patients who receives them grows, the doctors will have a better idea how reliable the blood flow will be.  So here we are.

As for my transverse myelitis, my legs are getting weaker and more restless, my bladder and bowel troubles are very slowly getting worse, and my neuro, a woman about my age (almost 60), attributes it to aging.

[Mcnickyo]

Kindred spirit. I to have aneurysms on left and right internal carotids above I think, the optic nerves. On R its 10mm and L a "small bundle" like grapes, between 2-5 mm.   Found this out at same time dx with MS. It's a long story but 20 years later I am still living with all the aneurysms...of course all docs say my daily headaches have nothin to do with the aneurysms..
I am 68 ms, Fibro, tmj, daily bad headaches..now bowel function isn't as I'd like.  I thought the risks of a bad outcome from surgery seemed a sure thing. You have a less invasive option now, but optic artery coming thru the aneurysm ...how could that possibly not cause pain. I am sure none of us expected this to be our path. God bless, Nicky

[HVAC]

You sure have a lot to contend with.

Alex