Hi all! I’m new here and recently found out I have an unruptured aneurysm on my anterior communicating artery. I am set for intervention surgery next month and pretty nervous. I have the option of the WEB device or the new trail SEAL IT. I’m not sure how I feel about the trial. I was wondering everyone’s experience with the surgery and if you have had either one of these devices put in? I also would like to know how your surgery went and how you have been doing since, I will not be having a craniotomy, I will be having the less invasive surgery.
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Welcome Tara! I’ve moved your topic to General as it’s where we do most of our sharing. (The BAF is kept for what they’re doing). I don’t have a WEB, I have a Neuroform Atlas Stent and it’s sure helped my quality of life most days. We do have many members who have had a WEB and many who have had their aneurysm in the same area. I’m hoping they’ll come talk to you and share their stories.
Best advice I can offer is to stay hydrated before and after your procedure especially difficult to do in the winter. And then stay well hydrated and eat protein afterwards as your brain will need both to help recover. Hang in there and please give time for others to respond as we cover the world.
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Thank you so much for your information and advice!
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Hi Tahara and welcome. I had the same unruptured aneurysm on the anterior communicating artery and I had the WEB device November 2019. The procedure went well but suffered headaches( migraines) after. Never had headaches before. I now take aimovig once a month which works great. I haven’t heard of the trail seal it. I’m very greatful for the WEB because the craniotomy was the only other option. If you have any specific questions you can contact me I’d love to help.
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Hi Tahara - I had the WEB implanted 11 months ago. My aneurysm was basilar tip. The procedure went very quickly and the WEB was perfectly placed. I was a little sore at the groin entry area for a couple days. I did get a hematoma at the groin entry site which was easily and quickly fixed my the nurses in recovery. My throat was a little scratchy for one day from the tube during surgery. Hospital stay was one night. I never had any headaches or nausea or anything. Except for the slight ache where they went in at the groin area I couldn’t even tell that anything occurred. I stayed a second night at a hotel in the area then flew home the 3rd day. I was tired for a couple days. Had the procedure on a Thursday and went back to work at a desk job on Monday. At the 6 month check up all was well. Happy to answer any other question . I truly hope the very best for you !!
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Hi @tahara05 -
Welcome to the BA family! I know, I know, NO ONE would choose to be part of this group (far from it, of course!), but yet I am so grateful to be on this journey together with you for this strange, crazy ride we are on, as we are all stronger together!
I have a different story than yours in that I am part of the ruptured club, so I know my journey varies dramatically from yours. If of any help, I wanted to let you know about the surgeries I have had, in case that is of any value to you.
As mentioned, I am part of the Ruptured Club, so honestly, I have little knowledge of the first few days as I was in a medically induced coma. 
I do know that my procedures to deal with the aneursym (“Elmer”) were mostly endovascular, and, of course, I have better memory as to what happened after the rupture, and a more limited view of the early days.
To deal with the remaining small aneurysm post-rupture, I first had a coil installed. I was then on watch and wait getting periodic CTAs/MRAs to see how things were progressing. This past spring (~10 months post rupture), my neuroradiologist said “hmmmm” after reviewing the results. With my next follow-up this fall, he decided to retreat it since Elmer was growing, so I had a stent (aka pipeline flow diverter) installed, and will find out soon what has happened since.
In terms of those surgeries, I would agree with @ccr-4 in that it was pretty easy to handle (excluding side complications not related to the surgery itself). As an example, with the recent stent I spent 26 hours in the hospital (supposed to be less than 24h, but I had one of my complications related to some medication I am on). He decided to go in through my groin v. my wrist this time since it is a “straight shot” to the artery. When I woke up, and saw that was the decision (fine!), I knew that meant recovery would be a little bit slower v. the wrist (aka radial) - so, 7 days instead of 2-3 days. Small price to pay to kill Elmer though! I had to take things a little bit more slowly for a week, and slowly build back up again (e.g.,no 2.5 mile fast-pace, Northeast walks for a few weeks; avoid stairs for 24h, but I was in a hospital bed, so that was easy enough to do!). The hardest part is always not lifting anything over 5 pounds or bending down to lift things up for a while. Tell that to my over 5 pound fur baby that I can’t bend down to lift him up or put his food down on the floor for a few weeks, but we figured out ways to get around that issue. 
Since the rupture, I have been doing better and better, and am almost back to my old self after these 19 months - but who could ever be the same again after this experience, right?? Overall, I am incredibly grateful and thrilled with my medical team (humbled too at their expertise), and although I wasn’t present to have made a choice at the moment, I am grateful that most of my procedures are endovascular.*
Throughout this journey, I have been encouraged to start a meditation/mindfulness practice to help reduce stress - which, of course - often includes breathing exercises. Feel free to give it a try and see if it works for you, as I personally have found it very helpful! There are a zillion of them out there, so find one that works for you. I use several, but my favorite is Healthy Minds. Healthy Minds is an East-meets-West kind of program, as it alternates between practicing meditation with lessons about the brain and how it works, so it is really fascinating and makes me appreciate our brains all that much more. Best of all, Healthy Minds is free (completely, no ads or anything, although you may get an occasional (monthly) email invite to do/attend something), available in iOS or Android, and run by a non-profit group. If you don’t like this one or another one you try, please keep trying others, because at least for me, my wearable shows how it reduces my stress levels, so that may help your nervous energy while you are waiting out your surgery date. Just as a quick example, I will share my favorite 1 minute “box breathing” video that helps me to chill quickly in a short time; if one round doesn’t calm me enough, I simply repeat a few times, and - for me - never fails to help me de-stress a little bit.
I am going to continue to keep you on my thoughts and healing energy list. Please let us know how you are doing over the next month, and do NOT hesitate to come back and share how you are doing during that time - whether to vent, ask questions, voice concerns - we are all here for you!!
Fin Whale Fan 
*Yes, I did have a complication from the rupture, namely developing hydrocephalus. Which means I am blessed (proud to say it!) to have a VP shunt in my head as well, and that procedure was a little more invasive than endovascular surgery. I 
my shunt thought - it is truly a miracle that has made me so much more like my own self again, so you won’t hear me complain about it at all!
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Thank you so much for all of the information! I’m happy you are doing well and seem to recover well. I appreciate your input!
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Thank you! I appreciate your information about the WEB procedure and you helped to calm my mind.
Thank you!
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I had a rupture and then nine months later stent implanted to bypass an area that was filling with blood. Regional coiling after rupture went well, but the implant of the stent Mal functioned, and I had a stroke during the surgery. Then 7 months later had another stroke at the point of the stent. My neurologist believes I have PTSD from the original aneurysm.
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Do you mind me asking the size of your aneurysm? How long ago did you have the original surgery?
Thanks for the info!
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