Can You Survive A Ruptured Brain Aneurysm? Part 2 of 3

Can You Survive A Ruptured Brain Aneurysm? Part 2 of 3
by Richard Tolar

Your chances of survival are increased the faster you get treatment for this type of
injury. It may sound cryptic, but your chances are a matter of luck. You stand a
pretty good chance of suffering minimal damage if you are very lucky. I was very
lucky.

A Note: Early diagnosis is vital. A simple MRI can detect a possible problem forming in
your head. Insist that your doctor setup an MRI exam if you suffer from severe or
constant headaches. My aneurysm was about the size of a grape and would have
been easily detected by an MRI long before it ruptured.

A ruptured brain aneurysm leaks blood into the spinal fluid surrounding the brain and
spinal cord causing a chemical reaction in the blood and the surrounding areas of the
brain. This type of a ruptured cerebral aneurysm, also known as a subarachnoid
hemorrhage (SAH) is one of the causes of the severe headaches.

REPAIRING THE HOLE IN THE RUPTURED ANEURYSM

How The Ruptured Hole Is Plugged

Detachable Coil Embolization

Treatment for a brain injury of this type depends a great deal on the severity, and
location of the injury. A relatively new procedure called "Detachable Coil
Embolization" using "Guglielmi Detachable Coils" (GDC) will be used if access to the
damaged area can be easily reached by feeding a probe to the area through a main
artery. This eliminates the need of opening the skull to gain access to the aneurysm.

Radiologist inserts a tube, called a catheter, into an artery in the leg. They feed the
catheter up through the body to the damaged area of the aneurysm. Once in
position, a number of small coils are fed through the catheter into the aneurysm. The
body responds by forming a blood clot around the coil blocking off the aneurysm.

The detachable coils are little wires that are easily formed into coiling wires. A series
of these wires are placed into the affected area and formed into a ball that plugs the
hole in the artery.

Try and form this picture in your mind. A glob of worms, 10,15,20 worms, group
together forming a tangled mass of worms. This is essentially what a "Detachable
Coil" looks like when the doctor completes the task of forming the coils into a plug.

CLIPPING A RUPTURED ANEURYSM

Placing a surgical clip at the neck of a ruptured aneurysm is considered a more
traditional way to stop the bleeding from the ruptures area. The highest risk, in my
opinion, is that the skull must be opened to gain access to the damaged area.

There is about a 35% risk of the clipped area to start bleeding again within the first
two weeks of an injury. This makes it extremely important that surgery is preformed
within 72 hours from the time of the rupture. This lessens the risk of the aneurysm
bleeding.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE SURGERY.

Physical and mental damage usually occurs whether the ruptured aneurysm is
repaired with coils or clips. The effects are very similar to what a stroke victim suffers.

The recovery process can take months or even years to restore, what is hopefully,
normal everyday functions.

A Note: My aneurysm burst 5 years ago. I am still working to regain some physical
abilities; some will never be restored.

Part 3 will cover some of the problems that are encountered and ways that I have
used to overcome the disabilities.

About The Author

Richard Tolar survived a ruptured brain aneurysm in 2002. He is recounting some of
his triumphs and failures since the incident. Meet Richard at his blog at:
.

Can You Survive A Ruptured Brain Aneurysm? Part 1 of 3
Can You Survive A Ruptured Brain Aneurysm? Part 2 of 3
Can You Survive A Ruptured Brain Aneurysm? Part 3 of 3

When a Cerebral Aneurysms ruptures
it can be sudden and with little or no
warning. One minute everything is
fine and then everything goes bad.
The worst part is it does not make
any difference where you are, or
what you are doing.

Some of the immediate systems are:

1. A severe headache

2. Your vision blurs

3. You lose conscious

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The content on
this website is for educational purposes only. Please consult with your physician before using natural
remedies and before making any drastic changes to your diet or exercise program.