Understanding Brain Aneurysm Surgery: Types, Procedure & Recovery

The brain is a very fragile and demanding organ. Blood vessels running to the brain--of which there are a tremendous amount since the brain monopolizes over 20 percent of the body's blood flow--must be elastic in order to keep their shape as the volume of blood passing through ebbs and flows. Individuals whose blood vessels are inelastic often experience brain aneurysms, small bulgings of these vessels, when more blood flows than they can contain. Most people live with these aneurysms without problem. But when an aneurysm ruptures, the problem can become life-threatening.

Instructions

• 1

  Recognize the symptoms of a possible brain aneurysm. These symptoms will usually begin with the sudden onset of an extremely painful headache. Following this headache, the sufferer may experience nausea or vomiting, blurred vision, confusion and loss of consciousness.

• 2

  If you notice someone experiencing some or all of these symptoms, or experience them yourself, get to the hospital immediately. Roughly one-third of people with ruptured brain aneurysms die before they reach the hospital, so time is of the essence.

• 3

  Go into the care of the hospital care staff. When you arrive at the hospital, the surgeons will most likely attempt to clip the aneurysm at the neck. This procedure will keep blood from flowing to the ruptured blood vessel.

• 4

  Recover form the procedure. While the surgery itself is not terrifically risky, the damage to the brain caused by leaked blood, however, will be determined in the strenuous days and weeks of therapy and recovery following the surgery.