Unruptured brain aneurysm – 0.6cm – Treat or watch closely?

Unruptured brain aneurysm – 0.6cm – Treat or watch closely?

Hi everyone - I am a 40 years’ old woman who always had migraine. When the headaches started to wake me up at night 3 months ago I thought there was something wrong. I then did an MRI in July and the results brought me a surprise: unruptured brain aneurysm – 0.6cm.

I have consulted two great doctors in my city (I live in São Paulo – Brazil). One recommended me that I should come back one year later so that we can see if the aneurysm has become bigger or not. The other one said that I am in the limit size where a surgical treatment would be the first recommendation. He said that if I decide to go ahead he can treat the aneurysm using the Stent Assisted Coil Embolization technique.

I am looking for answers and the more I research the more I get confused. If I am so close to the size where the first recommendation would be the embolization, why should I not do it right away? I have a very good medical assistance plan through my current employer and a good health condition as well. If I wait, the aneurysm gets bigger and for some reason I lose my job and consequently the medical assistance, I would be in a much more difficult situation than now for sure.

If you are reading this and can think of any reason I should not treat the aneurysm right away, please give me your opinion. I have a 4 years’ old daughter who needs me a lot.

Many thanks for your attention and the opportunity to share my fears and thoughts!

Ieda

Please check the size of your aneurysm. Generally the smaller ones are in mm.

If yours is 6mms you are indeed on the outer limit for watch and wait. I took olive leaf extract during the time I waited and my aneursym got smaller by .03mm. Was it the OL or a fluke? I have no clue, but I felt better doing something positive for my health.

My aneurysm was 7mm when it was coiled in February of 2016. I decided to move forward with the operation on the advice of an eminent Boston eye surgeon, who felt that waiting was not in my best interest.

So far I have had an angiogram prior to the surgery, the surgery itself and two follow up angiograms. I have a third angio, at 18 mos, scheduled for September. Coiling is not a once and done experience. At my last angiogram my aneurysm was not fully obliterated, but no specific follow up was made for this.

I sought a second opinion, you might want to do that as well. The second doctor said the same thing as the first doctor, so I felt confident that I was making the best decision I could. I think you would be less worried and fearful if a second doctor confirmed what the first doctor told you.

Try not to worry, because it won’t help or change anything. Decide a course of action only after you get a second opinion.

Personally, I would not wait.
LuAn

I was in a similar situation and decided due to the abnormal shape and my anxiety it was best to get it coiled sooner than later. I feel that this was the right decision for me and after the coiling the Dr said he felt it would have had a large chance to burst so I am glad we went that route and didnt wait and watch.

Hello Leda, I live in Ohio and also have an unruptured aneurysm about the same size. I just went through a procedure at the Cleveland Clinic where they put in a pipeline which is a type of stent to keep the blood out of the aneurysm. It’s a little safer than coiling because they don’t go into the aneurysm at all. Without blood flow, the aneurysm will eventually shrink. If you can find a hospital in Brazil that does this procedure, I would check into it. There is plenty online if you Google it.

I am in Cleveland, as well. May ask the name of your doctor?

I see Dr. M. Shazam Hussain. He also saved my sister’s life six years ago. She had a ruptured aneurysm and two more.

Hi! I also had a 6mm aneurysm in my basilar tip artery. I had surgery July 25th in which I had two stents and coils to repair. My regular doctor wanted to wait but I did not feel comfortable with his recommendation to wait so I went to a neurosurgeon to get his opinion. He said if he was in my shoes he would do the surgery as most annies begin to rupture at around 7mm. He did an angiogram to get a closer look and found out that there were two small one’s on top of the big one. I am glad that I had the surgery so that at least I don’t have to worry about it rupturing. My opinion is I would not wait. Good luck to you!

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I would research pipeline flex device. Coils tend to compress over time. I had two pipelines put behind my right eye in May and have had no issues. Mine was originally thought to be 7 mm but by the time I had surgery was 12mm.

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Yes I would talk with a great neurologist. I have 4 aneurysms. 3 treated with pipeline stints. All were under 5 mm. Like everyone says getting them taken care of does bring peace of mind. Best of luck to you

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