This is such a tiny little artery, common to rupture at under 7mm. I will be having mine (6mm - unruptured) clipped within the next 2 weeks. I would love to connect with ANYONE, pre-surgery or post surgery, with an aneurysm of the anterior or posterior communicating artery.
I feel liberated, now that my surgery has been assured, but I would surely love two more blessings to come of this...
1... Share encouraging stories w/hubby and children about my own situation
2... Offer well-wishes, prayers, and companionship with others suffering from aneurysm in similarly volatile locations.
I knew I had a 6mm aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery, and it was a case of watch and wait , 7 weeks ago it popped. I realised what was happening I live a long way from the local hospital, but decided to ask my son in law to drive me. I walked in to the A and E department and then I dont remember anything for 3 days , I was transferred to a specialist hospital, my aneurysm was coiled, and I cannot believe I am so well. My only problems are tiredness,and short term memory loss. I am 73 and also have an acoustic neuroma
I was actually relieved when it popped as living with it was a worry, but they dont do anything if they are under 7mm. I live in the UK, so it may be different where you are
Stay positive, put your trust in the doctors, if I can do so can you
You certainly have my prayers. I know what it’s like waiting for the surgery. But please know that these people (the neurosurgeons) know what they are doing. When I learned that my surgeon prayed before each surgery, I knew I had the right man. I’m sure you will be fine. Just remember that a friend (me) had this surgery in 1999, and is still doing fine.
Mine was on the basal artery and ruptured, Heidi, but I'm sending you all good wishes, and thank Heaven your aneurysm was discovered pre-rupture. I didn't even know mine existed until I awoke from coma several months after it burst. I hope you are able to hook up with some other folk with a similar type of aneurysm to yours.
Heidi, this my not be what you want to hear: I had a right PCA bleed nearly 20 years ago, and I am 79 years old. Surgery was considered but on the recommendation of Mayo Clinic I opted for watchful waiting. A few years later an interventional procedure was tried but discontinued after serious neurological issues were identified.
Life has moved on and I am still watching and waiting. I have essentially no neurological deficits and will likely pass on for some other reason. I have had the joy of seeing our three children marry and produce ten living grandchildren. Life is good and each day is a blessing!
Good morning Heidi! My anterior communicating artery annie was discovered Aug 2012 and was under a watch situation for a year. During that time I moved to south TX and found another neurosurgeon. After my annual MRI, my surgeon referred me to another neurosurgeon for angiogram and consult for the coiling procedure, which my annie was not a candidate for. But the angiogram results showed my aneurysm to be a little larger than initially thought, a little under 6mm, and irregular in form, therefore we decided to take of it by clipping. I had this procedure Oct 2013 with no complications and did great! My neurosurgeon relayed to us that by the grace of God we decided to go through with this because my aneurysm was very thin & may have ruptured in the near future. I had a 4 day stay in the hospital, could have been shorter but had some nausea & ran a little fever. But it’s ridiculous that you can have your head cut open & have very little pain and very little complications, following Drs orders. I’m still on anti seizure medication, under the care of a neurologist for headache maintenance & I see my neurosurgeon & neurologist next month. God bless & I hope your surgery goes well and lifts the weight off your mind!
Felicia
My Annie ruptured and I had many complications after surgery. I then had to recover but after 6 months I had to have another surgery because the coiling was compressing. The wait and unknown was difficult but trust your doctor and depend on your family for support. I am still on this earth because of my family. All will be well, just put your faith in God and love of your family.
Can someone explain to me why a small annie on the anterior communicating artery would be "common" to pop? I have been monitoring a 3mm one for about three years, and it has not changed. I see that several people do get clipped and coiled for these small annies. I have been operating under the assumption that only very very rarely would these small annies rupture. Am I being too "optimistic"?
Heidi, I had a ruptured posterior communicating artery (right) clipped in 1995. I was back to work within 3 months and worked for 20 years as an editor until a second brain surgery was needed to fix the skull damage from the first. The most significant change was having seizures post-op (5 grand mals in 20 years and minor seizures as well), but my neurologist says the microsurgical techniques are so much better that today no one would have the damage that I havefrom the more primitive techniques. The neurosurgeon at the time said the communicating arteries are the least brain damaging, because the flow of blood from the main arteries is not as affected. If you think of the letter ‘H’, the communicating artery is the line between the two pillars. I’m glad mine was on the right, rather than the left, because right sided surgeries affect cognition less than left ones. I am lucky to be alive, lucky to have returned to my life for so long, and lucky to have raised my two kids to adulthood. I am sure you have had a second opinion about the need to intervene with an unruptured aneurysm and the need to clip rather than coil without surgery. It is better to have a planned intervention than an unplanned one, like mine. I wish you all the best and please keep this group informed about your progress. It’s like a journey to an unknown world, but in my case, it was a round-trip! I hope it will be for you too!
My wife's was 6mm on the right posterior communicating artery 3.5 years ago. We were unaware of it until it ruptured. She was rated at a 5, the worst for loss of body function--she even lost the ability to do everything, even sit up. But today she is virtually normal in the sense that others would not notice any handicap, except sometimes people notice that her left leg is a bit slow. She has less control of her emotions. But considering the hit she took, she has done very well. She also recovered faster than the predictions of rehab. The first predictions were 3 - 5 months of acute rehab, but she accomplished the target goals in two weeks. And not long after she returned to piano teaching (which she had also done beforehand). We are grateful to God for His care and direction.
Knowledge is power. To know beforehand about the aneurysm is surely an advantage. Our doctors were very good, and they were able to do exactly what was needed by way of coiling. I expect that you are in a good position and can expect a very good outcome.
Apparently ACom and PCom annies are more prone to rupture, but I am not sure why? (Perhaps smaller arteries?) I don't really think that doctors can predict when/if an annie will rupture. We are also watch and wait for a small 2mm ACom annie. My husband was treated by coiling for a 6 mm oddly shaped annie. Unfortunately, the annie ruptured during the procedure. My husband was probably a better candidate for clipping, not coiling, but we were inexperienced with anything like this, and sort of rushed to make a decision. He went into the hospital due to a TIA, on Sunday morning and was undergoing coiling Tuesday morning. We never saw a neurosurgeon in the hospital to consult with us about clipping. So, now that this second was has been discovered, after consulting with 3 separate doctors, we are "watch and wait". The neurosurgeon we saw, also said it is very rare for something this size to rupture. My advise to anyone is not to feel pressured to make a decision without consulting with both an interventional radiologist and a neurosurgeon to determine, which procedure is safer for your particular circumstances. Heidi there are a few pages on facebook (anneurysm survivors and aneurysm/avm survivors Joes Niekro Foundation), where you will be able to find many people who have undergone both coiling and clipping procedures, pre-rupture, and have done and are doing very well.
I had my 7mm PCOM clipped in March, as the neurosurgeon thought it was ready to "pop."He said that it was leaning toward the membrane which they usually do before they rupture.I had a big black eye after surgery which took about 6 weeks to go away. but no other problems except never seeming to get enough sleep..
All seemed to go well. Yesterday, I experienced some vertigo. has anyone had this occur this far out from a clipping? I don't know if it could be due to that or something else.Has anyone had problems with vertigo as a complication? i've never had it before.
My 4.4mm right side PCOM ruptured in 2011 without warning. I was coiled. Many other complications at the time but I am AOK now. Surrounding you with love and light.
Thanks very much Alice. I'm glad to hear that you are doing well! I really thought that the little ones are not the ones that rupture. I've read a lot on the internet that the small ones have such a small chance of rupturing. It's the ones that are larger that are the problem.
I'm now wondering if I have been too cavalier about my understanding.
Thanks again!
Alice said:
My 4.4mm right side PCOM ruptured in 2011 without warning. I was coiled. Many other complications at the time but I am AOK now. Surrounding you with love and light.
In February 2013 I had a 7mm anterior communicating artery aneurysm found during an MRI looking for the cause of extreme constant headache and vomiting for 4 months. The neurosurgeon did not believe that the annie was causing the headaches or nausea, but I was in such pain that I wanted this to be treated so that I could rule this out as the cause. During the clipping procedure the surgeon stopped because he saw that the shape was odd. He told me another surgeon might have gone forward and if I wanted to go to another surgeon I could. I opted to stay with my neurosurgeon and do the clipping. During that operation he also found an outgrowth that he did not feel comfortable clipping, so he wrapped the annie. When I woke up from the surgery the headache was GONE. Black eye (that no one told me about before hand) I had some nausea for about another week, but no major residual affects from the surgery.
Finding it before it ruptured and treating it was a blessing for me. I went back to work after 6 months and still have some minor residual affects (get tired much faster than before the surgery, get irritated quicker than I ever used to, and can't do some actions too quickly or else my head will spin.) But overall moving on with my life and dealing with the limits I have.
What I have found reading this site is that everyone is different. Be comfortable with your neurosurgeon and never stop believing that you will improve. There is no exact treatment or recovery that fits everyone. Bless you and your family on your treatment and recovery!
I am on year three of post- anterior communicating artery coiling- non ruptured wide neck. I have had ZERO complications and have thus far had clear scans even had a baby girl afterwards- very blessed! I will keep you in my prayers!
Congratulations. You should great! You must be very relieved.
Heather said:
I am on year three of post- anterior communicating artery coiling- non ruptured wide neck. I have had ZERO complications and have thus far had clear scans even had a baby girl afterwards- very blessed! I will keep you in my prayers!
My name is Miguel Rodríguez S., I live in Veracruz, MX., and as you, I had my surgery since the 7th September, 2012, with an aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery, which was clipped. The life has changed since then, and with confidence in God and helping us by ourself, it is possible to going ahead. The code is to make all the exercises to help our memory, every day. it's very difficult at the begining, but not imposible; so, keep on your trayning and always have confidence in God; if He left us here, is because one reazon.
I had an annie of the Anterior Communicating Artery and did not know that I had it. It ruptured Nov. 8, 2013. The Lord used many health care providers to bring me through. It is coiled. I have not had a clipping so I can't speak to that, but I wanted you to hear that you are wise to treat this aneurysm.