Should we choose interventional therapy or craniotomy and clipping for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms?

In today's society, the incidence of intracranial aneurysms is getting higher and higher. Once a cerebral aneurysm ruptures and bleeds, the probability of death and disability is extremely high. Surgery is the first choice for treatment. So should the treatment of intracranial aneurysms be interventional therapy or craniotomy and clipping?

Compared with craniotomy and clipping, patients who receive interventional treatment can significantly reduce the probability of death and disability and improve clinical prognosis. Generally speaking, vascular interventional embolization is the first choice for the treatment of intracranial aneurysms.

In the past decade, vascular interventional treatment of intracranial aneurysms has developed rapidly. With the emergence of coils, auxiliary balloons, stents for intracranial aneurysms and blood flow guidance devices, the efficacy of vascular interventional treatment has become more accurate. Today, interventional treatment has become the first choice for some intracranial aneurysms.

The purpose of interventional embolization for cerebral aneurysm is to prevent aneurysm rupture and bleeding and completely eliminate the aneurysm. For aneurysms that have already ruptured and bled, emergency treatment measures should be taken to prevent them from rupturing and bleeding again, and interventional embolization should be performed against time to eliminate the aneurysm.

Common interventional treatment methods include: simple coil embolization of aneurysms, stent-assisted coil embolization of aneurysms, balloon-assisted coil embolization of aneurysms, covered stent-covered aneurysm occlusion, dense mesh stent-covered aneurysm occlusion, etc. Various interventional treatment techniques promote thrombosis of cerebral aneurysms and close aneurysms through minimally invasive catheter intervention techniques, and then as the aneurysm thrombosis and fibrosis occur, the aneurysm shrinks and disappears.

The advantages of vascular treatment are short operation time, no need to open the cranial cavity, fast recovery, and the ability to treat multiple aneurysms in different parts of the left and right aneurysms at the same time. However, the disadvantages are high cost, high recurrence rate, and some patients who need stent placement to assist embolization need to take anticoagulants for life.

The treatment of intracranial aneurysms should take into account the patient's disease and some external factors, and choose a more appropriate surgical treatment. When the situation permits, vascular interventional embolization is the first choice.