The surgeons have decided! After waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting.... we have had a call from the surgeons and the neurosurgeon is going to do both the blocked carotid artery and the aneurysm under the one general anesthetic operation! So while it's great it's one op and we won't need to go back in (hopefully!) it does also mean it will be very intense getting both things done at once.
First the surgeon will put a stent in Dad's carotid artery (which is on his right side) via catheter through the groin. And then he will go up the left carotid artery and put put a stent and coils in his aneurysm which is on the middle left cerebral artery.
I am scared!! But I am also happy a date has finally been set because my Dad is so TIRED!! And headaches and dizziness and just plain exhausted. It's awful seeing him like this.
So now, can I ask for any more experiences of stenting and coiling? I have searched some stories here but just to hear more would be so reassuring. And have any of you had your carotid cleared at the same time? Or do you know of anyone that has?
I appreciate any words you have, even encouraging well wishes if you don't have your own experience with coiling and stenting. Because although I'm a lot more knowledgeable about aneurysms and operations now than I was when I first posted here, I'm still very scared and living on eggshells!! This has been a hugely trying few months. Never did I realise how lucky I had it in life before this all happened. Thankgod for this forum because there really is little help out there in the physical world.
Hi! I had one annie coiled and the other coiled and stented in Sept and Oct 2014. It went perfectly well both times. No complications, fast procedures, back on my feet after two days. I had the first control angio last month, everything looks perfect. I hope for the same results in 6 months for the one year angio It’s harder for the family I think because there’s nothing you can do and you have to wait, my husband said it was very tough for him waiting. And mine were fast compared to the time it usually takes… stay as positive as you can, I know it’s super stressful but I learned that positivity will get you half way there. Medicine is not just about the doc and the procedure it’s also the patient and their state of mind:) if you have any other question, don’t hesitate. I wish you and your dad the best of luck and much serenity and positivity in these trying times!
My father had a coil and stent about 5 years ago. He is singing New York, New York as of this typing through videoke. :) Stay positive and prayers to your father's healing!
I had a stent and coils two years ago. Everything went well and I have had no further problems. I was out of hospital in three or four days. Hope all goes well for your father.
Although I have not had stents, in 2008 I had a graft placed in my abdominal aortic artery to correct an aortic aneurysm, and this went well with only yearly checkups by either ultrasound or CT scan to make sure everything is all right. And so far it has been. All the best to your father - I’m sure everything will be fine for him.
Hi SummerGirl, Chill! and get your father to chill as well!
These procedures are now carried out on a routine basis, with little risk!
I have had 2 of them coiled and stented in the last 2 years, one was in the basilar region and the other was a left side ophthalmic, both were successful with no problems at all and no after effects.
You have the best sleep ever and wake up! Job done! I lest hospital the day after the procedure!
There is nothing to worry about at all, in fact I am more concerned going to the dentist for a filling than having this procedure.
I have another 3 which cannot be coiled, so I will wait till new procedures and techniques become available, as I refuse to have open surgery.
So! Chill and get your father to Chill as well and remember that there is nothing to fear other than fear itself.
agree with martinc, I had coils and stent for a second unruptured aneurysm and was home the next day. I felt better than I'd felt since my rupture with no ill effects apart from headaches which subsided. I can see why they are doing both at the same time since they will be going up through the femoral artery anyways and will be in a nearby area already, may as well do both at once.
SummerGirl, I had a stent/coiling done in August, 2007. It was done quickly and I did not have any problems afterward. I can't even remember a real recovery period. I have had angioplasty with stents placed in my heart, too, and the stent/coiling in my head was about the same; up and around by the next day...business as usual. I'm sure the procedure has only gotten better since that time so please don't worry!
I also had a craniotomy/wrapping of a second annie in March, 2008. That one was a little tougher recovery but I'm still hanging in there!
SummerGirl, thank you for posting an update. I have been thinking of and praying for you and your father and wondering if you had received any answers yet. I believe you have received such wonderful news! It is fabulous and amazing that they can fix both simultaneously. I have coils and a stent. Like Martin, I had the best sleep of my life. When I woke up, I felt like I had been hit like a train, had a horrible headache, was seeing flashes of light, and could not control or feel things in my right hand. The headache lasted about 24 hours, the hand thing lasted a few days, and the flashes of light have diminished over time. These things were all minimal compared to the alternative. I was discharged from the hospital in 2 days and returned to work in 1 month. I have returned to “normal” and resumed all activities. Congratulations on your great news! I will continue to keep you both in my prayers. May God continue to bless you both.
Kind Regards,
Natalie
Hi! I have had the Pipeline Embolization Device (PED) implant for three years and haven't had any problems. I was 66 at the time and I survived it. Try to find ways to be positive. This is the least invasive of surgeries. Very little pain ( just in the groin for a few days).
You and your Father will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Please try to be calm and do not worry, be positive for your sake and your dad's. In 2006 the blood flow in my carotid artery was blocked to an extent so as to close off the supply of blood passing through my giant ophthalmic aneurysm which was behind my right eye. The aneurysm clotted and is now thrombosed. I was discharged from hospital after 4 days. I have headaches from time to time now but they do not require pain killers and I can live with that and have been doing so for the past 9 years. If it is a side effect, it is small when you consider I have my life. I will remember your dad and family in my prayers.
Dear Summer, I'm sooo sorry! I prayed for your dad as soon as I read this. Please get a MRI and a MRA, because aneurysm run in the family!! Best of luck!
I had a stent put in, after my ruptured aneurysm was coiled, because I developed hydrocephalus - no problem, I have flown since, no pain, I just have to explain to hairdressers what the funny lump is in my scalp and tell them to watch out for it if combing my hair hard - most of them seem to know about these things, I guess it's covered in their training. Also I have found it just slightly uncomfortable in situations such as lying in a dentist's chair. But no big deal. Wishing your Dad all the very best, from a fellow member of the Battered Brain Club! Oh - one quuite amusing event - I had to go for an X-ray, for something unrelated - they came back looking concerned and asked me if I'd ever been shot! Because they detected a piece of metal in my abdomen and thought it was a bullet! I was puzzled and said, "No?" Then my husband twigged what it was and burst out laughing. He said, "She's got a stent, and that's the metal clip at the end, where it drains!" Everybody was relieved and laughing. Just something to bear in mind.
Thank you so much everyone! The replies on here are amazing. I actually just had a phone call from the neurosurgeon himself which was really good. I didn’t think he would call me because I’m not the actual patient. He was very honest and he talked a lot about the 3% risk Dad will have undergoing this surgery. He put a lot of emphasis on the risk and made sure I knew the operation was serious. Did anyone else have their surgeons emphasise the risk more than the fact that all should go well? I mean the surgeon did say he has a high success rate and he wouldn’t be going forward with the operation if he didn’t think it would be successful. But just the time he spent on the phone call talking about the risk, that actually upset me a bit. Is that normal procedure for surgeons to talk that much about it?
sally I think you're confusing a stent with a shunt? stents are sometimes used with coiing when there is a wide neck to the annie. they are placed across the neck of the annie to stop the coils from falling back out through the wide neck.
Sally Chewter said:
I had a stent put in, after my ruptured aneurysm was coiled, because I developed hydrocephalus - no problem, I have flown since, no pain, I just have to explain to hairdressers what the funny lump is in my scalp and tell them to watch out for it if combing my hair hard - most of them seem to know about these things, I guess it's covered in their training. Also I have found it just slightly uncomfortable in situations such as lying in a dentist's chair. But no big deal. Wishing your Dad all the very best, from a fellow member of the Battered Brain Club! Oh - one quuite amusing event - I had to go for an X-ray, for something unrelated - they came back looking concerned and asked me if I'd ever been shot! Because they detected a piece of metal in my abdomen and thought it was a bullet! I was puzzled and said, "No?" Then my husband twigged what it was and burst out laughing. He said, "She's got a stent, and that's the metal clip at the end, where it drains!" Everybody was relieved and laughing. Just something to bear in mind.
Wait..... I have now been told that they are actually NOT using coils. Just a stent. They said the aneurysm will slowly die off. So is that a PED instead?
Either way, the actual operation is what I'm worried about, coils or no coils. I suppose not using coils is one less thing that has to be added so that's good.
I'm still worried about the risk rate. The surgeon said 3% for the aneurysm and 2% for the carotid so 5% all up. Do you think this is still low?
I can only speak of my aneurysm that was coiled and two stents put in. My original consultation suggested they would go in and decide on the stents etc. on the table. So, I went to Johns Hopkins where after three weeks of discussion with the entire department they decided to go with the stents. Then when they did go in, they found the base of the aneurysm was even wider than they thought. So, all I am saying, I am glad I waited for the thorough study before the procedure. It has been three years and all angiograms and MRAs have been clear. I'm glad I waited. Best wishes for your dad.
Hello, I had a wide-neck 5 mm aneurysm in my left carotid artery near the opthalmic artery coiled with a stent in May of 2013. The surgery went well considering I had a few complications. My body attacked the metal right away and caused my opthalmic artery to be blocked temporarily. They gave me more blood thinners during the surgery to unblock it. Thankfully I did not lose any vision! At my one year follow-up angiogram I found out my left carotid artery was 80% blocked from scar tissue inside the stent. They tried to do an angioplasty but were unable to. Then they wanted me to wait 6 weeks for any swelling from the attempted angioplasty to go down. I sitll had two more weeks to wait when I had a mild watershed stroke. I ended up in the hospital for a week. They did the angiplasty again and it was successful but unfortunately the guidewire snagged the stent and tore it off my artery wall and that caused more scarring. They think it is still 80% blocked. I actually go in this week for an MRA to check on all the arteries in my brain. I have two or three calateral arteries that are helping take over for the blocked carotid artery. Is your dads completely blocked? Will they be doing angioplasty? I hope for all the best for him!!
It’s harder for the family I think because there’s nothing you can do and you have to wait, my husband said it was very tough for him waiting. And mine were fast compared to the time it usually takes… stay as positive as you can, I know it’s super stressful but I learned that positivity will get you half way there. Medicine is not just about the doc and the procedure it’s also the patient and their state of mind:) if you have any other question, don’t hesitate. I wish you and your dad the best of luck and much serenity and positivity in these trying times!