Detection and Treatment Guide Updated 2017 Detection-and-Treatment-2017 | Page 13

TREATMENT OPTIONS
Options for treatment are:
• Open surgery (clipping)
• Endovascular therapy (coils, stents, liquid agents, flow diversion device)
• No treatment: observation, with control of risk factors and possible repeat imaging
Decisions regarding treatment are based on many factors, including:
• The patient’s neurological condition, medical condition, and age
• The location, size, and shape of the aneurysm
• The availability of treatment options
• Whether the aneurysm is ruptured or unruptured
• The risk of aneurysm rupture
• Family history of aneurysm or subarachnoid hemorrhage
These and other factors help your doctor decide which type of treatment
to recommend.
Usually doctors treat the aneurysm with the method that presents the lowest
risk and highest chance for success. For example, aneurysms in the back part
of the brain may be more safely treated with coils. Endovascular treatment
may also be better for sick or older patients because it does not require long,
deep anesthesia.
Open surgery may be better for healthy, young patients due to the known
longevity of clipping. It may also be recommended for patients with aneurysms
requiring treatment that are not safely treatable with an endovascular approach.
It is important to keep in mind that the primary goal of treatment is to prevent
the aneurysm from bleeding or re-bleeding. Treatment does not usually
improve symptoms except when large aneurysms are pressing on nerves.
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