My mother has a 2.5mm aneurysm (had a recent angiogram to confirm). She’s trying to choose between coiling vs clipping. Can you share your experiences for those who have had the clipping surgery. How long did it take you to heal? Were there any major complications from your surgery? What was the hospital stay(how long) after surgery? What can she expect if she chooses to do the surgery? Thanks in advance
I had 2 unruptured aneursysms clipped on July 6. I went home on July 9. I would say there were no major complications, but they went in expecting one annie & found 2--with the surprise one much closer to rupturing & they clipped both of them.
Two weeks post surgery, I had my stitches out & it was also the first day of the biggest dog show of the year for this area. (Wednesday through Sunday) I did WAY too much that day (helped set up our grooming area, went to have stitches removed, returned to dog show to watch & hang out with friends, then out for dinner). I spent the next day in bed, but made it back for the last 3 days of the show. I also borrowed an electric wheel chair to use to get around the dog show.
I still had frequent headaches the first 2 weeks after surgery & spent a lot of time in a darkened room with an ice pack on my head. Vicodin was my friend for those 2 weeks. I think it was another week before I felt well enough to drive myself into town for errands.
Four weeks post surgery (early August), I was brave enough to drive 40 miles into Houston & attend a dance class for the first time since April.
My surgeon wanted me to have 4 weeks between surgery & returning to work. I'm a teacher, so I didn't have to go back until nearly 6 weeks post-surgery. I was still easily fatigued and was VERY glad that the first week back was meetings & planning (and no students). I was also still having difficulty focusing for extended periods of times & was still a bit absent minded.
I still need at least one of my weekend days to just completely relax & not go anywhere or do much in order to be ready for the school week.
Shanta, her choice would also depend on her age and other health conditions. I am surprised that your Mom's surgeon would even try to fix a 2.5 mm ani. Is there a reason they don't just keep an eye on it every 6 months or so? My dermatologist wife has a 3 mm and they just check it every year to see if it is growing.
I had my 7.5 mm clipped on 10-10-11. Had the operation on Monday, went home on Friday evening, then went back on Wednesday for the staple and stitches removed. Not much pain post op. It took me about 1 month to get enough stamina back to go for half/day of doing housework, vacuuming, etc. Also, I am 62 yrs old with non-related aneurysm health problems. The only post-ani problem for me is migraines that probably will be forever for me. Never had pre-op migraines or bad headaches that a Tylenol didn't fix. I take Verapamil for the migraines and it works great, but took a long time to kick in at first. I have gone off it for 9 days, but they started to come back so I went right back on the medicine. I give you that information just incase she goes forward with either operation. Some of us had temporary migraines, headaches, or forever like myself. By the way, I am like A. Collins below. Doctor went in to clip 1 ani and found a 2nd which was small but he did not clip it. Used some sort of glue and gauze to fix it. I don't know the name of that procedure. Any other post problems I had went away either with meds or on their own and didn't last long.
Keep us posted on your mom and what she decides. Jeanne
Shanta -- obviously each annie case is a bit different. I had surgery to clip my annie on April 20, 2011. I was 64 at the time. I spent one night in ICU, one night in regular room and discharged the next morning. Unfortunately I did have a complication of a staph infection some 5 weeks later. Your mom should expect a short hospital stay if all goes well and a recovery period in which she will feel fatigued, have some headache pain and brain jolts as the brain heals. Make sure that she takes time to rest, rest, rest before going back to her daily schedule. I've had 3 brain surgeries in the last nine months and made it through each one and each one had a different recovery period. My best wishes for your mom and for a successful surgery.