Panama Medical Vacations

Endovascular Therapy

Coil for Brain Aneurysm Treatments in Panama

An aneurysm is an abnormal widening or ballooning of a portion of a blood vessel. It often resembles a sac of blood attached to one side of the vessel. These fluid-filled bulges or sacs that form on the weakened walls of arteries can lead to stroke or death when they burst. Symptoms of an aneurysm usually do not appear until complications develop. They can include: hemorrhaging, weakness, numbness or other loss of nerve function. Traditional treatment for a brain aneurysm is cranial surgery where the vessel is clipped or coil embolization where a coil is inserted through a catheter in the groin to the area where bleeding can then be controlled.

It is estimated 2 percent and 5 percent of the United States population will have cerebral aneurysms, although most go undetected. In excess of 150,000 cerebral aneurysm patients are treated annually worldwide. If you have been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, Hospital Punta Pacifica in Panama City, Panama is the place to come.

The Procedure

Coiling is performed by a neuroradiologist or endovascular surgeon. An incision is used in the groin to access the artery and to allow a catheter to be inserted and guided up to the brain. This process is guided with the use of computer-aided X-ray scanners. Once the catheter is in place, a contrast dye is added to the bloodstream in order to make the artery and the aneurysm clearly visible and to aid in obtaining good images. The characteristics of the aneurysm, including shape, size and exact location, are determined and recorded; this part of the procedure is similar to an angiogram. A microcatheter is then introduced through the larger catheter and used to place coils into the aneurysm. They are individually placed and detached from the microcatheter by a small electric current and then form a mesh similar to steel wool. Blood cells are trapped in this mesh and clot in a process called "thrombosis", which seals off the aneurysm from the artery circulation.

After your surgery

After care for this surgery depends largely on what damage is done before and during the procedure. In cases where there are hemorrhages, it is not uncommon that the patient is in the hospital for 10 days to 2 weeks with extensive rehabilitation following.

Risks

Any surgery concerning the brain is considered high risk. The risks of this procedure include:

Weakness or paralysis of an arm or a leg
Difficulty with speech or understanding
Vision impairment
Confusion, memory loss and/or seizures
Infection
Bleeding
Kidney damage from X-ray dyes