Hi Sheryl,
That sounds so strange to me because I have never before read of this phenomenon. I will ask my neuro doc when I get the MRA. I would feel so happy to experience what you have seen.
Thank you for responding to my message,
Jackie
Hey Moltroub,
That’s a great idea. Maybe I will purchase a set of scrubs, just for the MRA experience. That could be sort of fun.
Thank you,
Jackie
Just think, you could change out to different colors and everyone would be confused as to which department you’re in lol
I had 9 coils put in my SAH in October of 2017 and 9 more coils and a stent inserted in May of 2018 because the aneurysm had begun to leak. I had an angiogram to check for more leakage, November 2018 and the aneurysm had totally collapsed around the coils and was gone. I do not even have to go back for a follow up for a year.
Good luck. Realize I was seeing the display of my brain on screen while the angio was being performed on my brain. It was an experience as well.
Hi Moltroub,
I’ve remembered that the MRA showed the small ani in more detail, more vividly, than did the angio. The angio was looked at again after the MRA and the ani was there, but it was not recognized at the time of the angio.
Jackie
rmuelman, Thank you for your response. Did you see the angio results yourself? I am wondering what it looked like to you, if you did. It seems there would still be a very small blob that contained the coils, is that true?
Thank you again,
Jackie
Hi Sheryl,
I am re-reading the responses to my question about disappearing aneurysms and just realized that you said you could see the outline of where yours used to be.
Doesn’t that mean that the aneurysm sac is still there, it’s just not showing any blood flowing into it? My understanding is that once the coils have caused the blood to coagulate, then it is only the coiled wire that we see remaining, but it is still inside the wall of the aneurysm’s sac. So I am wondering if your explanation could be worded that you no longer have an active aneurysm? I’ve never seen a coiled aneurysm that no longer is receiving blood referred to as an “inactive” aneurysm, so I really don’t know what to call them when they’re no longer able to accept blood due to coiling. Simply stating “coiled aneurysm” doesn’t really convey all the information a patient would like to know.
I hope you will reply to this so I can better understand. If you have any references to this occurring, I would love to read them myself. It would make me very happy to have this intruder in my brain truly disappear!
Thank you!
Jackie
Hi, Jackie,
My neurosurgeon did the surgery and the follow-up angio. He said it was gone and explained when I asked why I could see the outline of where it was. It is like a “scar” - the aneurysm itself is gone as the balloon it created has no blood and with the coils flattened and the stent in place, no blood can fill that area again. The outline I saw was what was left when the blood was “pressed out”. The blood does not coagulate in the area of the aneurysm. The coils compress moving the blood down to the artery where it free flows as it should, and the stent prevents blood from refilling the “balloon”, or area where the aneurysm was. It cannot fill up again with the coils and stent in place.
I hope this helps; I suggest you discuss your situation with your neurosurgeon.
I’m envious! I’ve always wanted to see what they see, when they see it, but I’m told the screen won’t swing.
I am surprised - the screen in the angio room at Emory Hospital, Atlanta, GA is about 15’ wide and 4’ tall - it is a teaching hospital so maybe that is why. I had an audience.
It was amazing to see the original and follow up.
Teaching hospital for me as well. And lord their screen is huge! The screen starts about my shoulder level on the left when laying down on the table. There’s all those helpful machines in the way. In order to see it, I have to sorta raise my shoulders and turn my head. For some reason, my Neurosurgeon doesn’t see the benefit roflol. The viewing room is to my far right starting about shoulder level. They get an excellent view! I walked into it one time. I was curious. I told the student waiting that I stepped in to see if this was the type of procedure I wanted. Lol. (For some unbeknownst reason, I take great joy in seeing their expressions. I blame it on being in the ICU for so long.) I’ve only had one angiogram in which there were no students, that was my last one. Usually she has standing room only especially for the coilings. I’ve asked to have an app put on my tablet and I could watch that and wouldn’t have to move. Every solution I come up with she always provides a viable reason why it can’t happen. I told her I hate to wait for the reruns. It’s bad when you’ve had so many angiograms/coilings that you remember all the three of her teammates. Lucky for me they haven’t changed in five years!
Jackie, the Psychiatrist name is Dr. Bruce Perry. I couldn’t find a specific link to the study that showed early childhood trauma and the later adult brain effects and how the adult brain can still overcome issues. Dr. Perry is one of the States leading researchers on brain activity. He does focus on children, hence my training before I ruptured. The way I look at my brain is that it simply needs retrained. Yes it may take longer because my brain is older, but it can be retrained. The first three years after rupture, I could not say contractions, like can’t, don’t, etc. I worked hard and now I I say them about half the time.
no, after the doctor performs the angiogram, you can see the image with a small bump where the aneurysm was. The image is inspected by the radiologist and the neurosurgeon, they compear your last image to the new and create a report specifying their findings. Ask your doctor for the report and have them explain your questions. Good luck
Thanks again to all who have responded to my questions. I still can’t imagine how what some of you say (disappearing aneuyrsm’s after coiling/splint) correlates to what I have seen in my own follow-ups in the past 4 years. Although I have a 2mm neck remnant post-coiling on July 9, 2014, there has never been any mention of the ani leaking/accepting more blood. I’ve never had more coils inserted, nor a stent placed. I will discuss all your comments with my interventional neuroradiologist after I have an MRA in July of this year. Thanks again for your responses.
Jackie
Ruben,
My aneurysm looks just like it did after it was coiled 4.5 years ago. A big (9.7mm) “balloon” stuffed full of silvery wire. I’ve only had angio’s with fluoroscopy and they all look identical.
I will talk with my doctor after the MRA.
Thank you for your input.
Jackie
I read this article last night after searching “Mechanism of Collapse of Cerebral Aneurysm”. I only got this one hit. Not being a biology major was a set-back for complete understanding of the information, but I got some valuable insight into the healing process. Here is the link if you are interested:
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2015 Jul;36(7):1216-22. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A4175. Epub 2014 Nov 27.
“Mechanisms of Healing in Coiled Intracranial Aneurysms: A Review of the Literature.”
Brinjikji W1, Kallmes DF2, Kadirvel R2.
This doesn’t really sound similar to what you have said, though they did describe the contracture of the aneurysm wall as being similar to the contracture seen in an external wound as it heals. They describe a layer of cells forming across the neck of the of the aneurysm during healing.
I wanted to check for articles written by your neuro, but I don’t know the name. Do you mind sharing?
Thank you,
Jackie
Thank you for the article, Jackie. Best to you in your recovery.
Thank you Jackie for your comment regarding memory & your math limitations. I appreciate your note and am glad there is still the possibility of improvement. I am struggling 3 years post coiling. I was baffled by my limitations because I was expecting to be fine once the aneurysm was taken care of. I wasn’t prepared. I see lots of people here with the same problems. I don’t know why it was never discussed with me… unless it was and I don’t remember. 
I’m glad you are continuing to improve; it gives me hope.
Amy
Hi Amy,
I hope you are reading as much as possible, and I mean any kind of reading, not just brain-related articles.
I had to laugh at your comment that perhaps limitations were indeed discussed with you, but you can’t remember! I said virtually the same thing about stents a couple of weeks ago. (I was in the hospital for a month, so why didn’t someone talk to me about this being a possibility! Oh yeah, well, maybe they did…but they told my husband I probably wouldn’t remember much of anything about that month.)
Did you have a brain bleed (ruptured ani)? If so, you are lucky to be alive. I keep forgetting that and want every aspect of my life to be as it was pre-rupture.
Keep fighting the limitations you are experiencing, even if it means hiring a tutor to get you started on your way.
I hope you will keep us informed of your progress.
Jackie J