ANEURYSMS AND AVMS

Abnormal blood vessels in the brain can result in devastating injuries to patients, should these blood vessels burst and cause hemorrhage or bleeding into the brain. These hemorrhages and injuries to the brain can result in death, paralysis, and seizure and can range from severe to mild. The majority of the time these abnormal blood vessels present after an event brings the patient to the attention of a physician, usually under emergency circumstances. Once in a while, these abnormalities are found before a hemorrhage or any symptoms occur, and can be treated preventing these otherwise disabling and debilitating events.

The majority of these abnormal blood vessels fall into one of two categories. Aneurysms are small areas of blood vessels usually at a branch point within the brain that balloon out. The wall of the blood vessels at this point is weak and can allow blood to burst through it under high pressure. This can cause bleeding into and around the brain with potentially severe injury to the brain itself.

Arteriovenous malformations are another type of blood vessel abnormality which tend to occur within the brain substance itself and are classically described as a tangle of blood vessels. These blood vessels are abnormal in their structure and allow blood to leak and/or burst through their walls, resulting mostly in bleeding into the brain with subsequent damage. These two abnormalities represent the majority of abnormal types of blood vessels that patients present with to the emergency room and, thus, the neurosurgeon.

The treatment of these abnormalities requires special skills and treatments. Most neurosurgeons are trained in the treatment of aneurysms and AVMs. However, at SDNSI, the neurosurgeons have special training under the auspices of two world-renown vascular neurosurgeons, Dr. Hoi Sang U and Dr. Roderick Lamond. Their extensive experience during training, as well as after their training, has afforded the neurosurgeons at SDNSI the opportunity to care for many patients with aneurysms and AVMs with good outcomes. The neurosurgeons at SDNSI are recently trained and, thus, are adept and knowledgeable about the latest options for treatment of AVMs and aneurysms.

We at SDNSI are committed to the treatment of patients with aneurysms and AVMs using the latest knowledge and equipment, as well as all available techniques to ensure the best outcomes for patients with these potentially life-threatening diseases.

Helpful outside articles and information:

Brain Aneurysm Foundation

Brain Aneurysm Support Group

Information about Cerebral Aneurysms

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