A cerebral aneurysm, known to be found in regarding 1 to 5% of the total population, is a very dangerous disease that has almost no precursor symptoms and has a mortality rate of nearly 50% if ruptured.
However, if it is detected early and treated appropriately, the prognosis is good and the patient can return to daily life, so it is important to detect and treat it early, according to experts.
A cerebral aneurysm is a disease in which a part of the wall of a cerebral artery weakens and inflates like a balloon to form an aneurysm.
Once an aneurysm is formed, cerebral blood flow enters the aneurysm, and the aneurysm can grow larger or rupture. If a cerebral aneurysm ruptures and a subarachnoid hemorrhage occurs, the mortality rate is close to 50%.
The cause of cerebral aneurysm is not clearly known. However, judging from the fact that the location of the occurrence is the branching part of blood vessels, it is assumed that the blood vessel wall is stimulated in the course of a rapid change in the direction of blood flow. In addition, the incidence rate of women is three times higher than that of men, so it is believed that there is an effect of hormones. In addition, family history, underlying diseases such as high blood pressure, and the presence or absence of smoking influence the development of brain aneurysms. Therefore, people with cerebral aneurysm risk factors should pay more attention to regular health check-ups.
Early detection and preventive treatment of cerebral aneurysms are very important. However, most cerebral aneurysms are asymptomatic and therefore difficult to detect.
Therefore, patients with cerebral aneurysms often check for aneurysms through medical examinations. Rarely, when an aneurysm develops around the optic nerve, diplopia may occur due to visual field disturbances or ocular movement disorders. In addition, a rupture-level aneurysm can be accompanied by severe headache, loss of consciousness, and vomiting.
When a cerebral aneurysm is discovered, there are two main methods used for prophylactic treatment. First, there are craniotomy and clip ligation, which open the head and directly ligate the brain aneurysm.
Second, there is a neural interventional treatment method that treats the aneurysm by accessing the aneurysm into the blood vessel through the femoral artery without opening the head.
In addition, coil embolization, which fills the inside of the aneurysm with a coil and blocks blood flow, cerebral blood flow diverting stent installation procedure, and web procedure are being used.
Professor Dong-Young Cho of Neurosurgery at Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital advised, “There are many ways to treat brain aneurysms, but it is important to accurately identify the aneurysm for each patient and find a method that will give the patient the best prognosis.”
In the treatment of cerebral aneurysms, safety is more important than anything else. This is because most patients start treatment in the absence of symptoms, which leads to neurological symptoms such as paralysis following surgery.
Professor Cho Dong-young said, “Because it is a cerebrovascular surgery, it cannot be said that it is 100% safe, but we are treating it with safety as the top priority to minimize the occurrence of disorders that did not exist before the operation.”
Professor Cho Dong-young also said, “I understand that there are many worries when a brain aneurysm is diagnosed for the first time. If you do, there will be better results.”
On the other hand, Professor Dong-Young Cho is a cerebrovascular surgeon who is certified for cerebrovascular surgery by the Korean Society of Endovascular Medicine and Neurointervention by the Korean Society of Interventional Neuroscience. Ewha University Seoul Hospital, where specialists provide 100% dedicated treatment, is in charge of emergency surgery and procedures in 24-hour standby mode. Reporter Jang Jong-ho bellho@sportschosun.com
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