A couple of weeks ago I had the right Pica aneurysm coiled and a stent put in the pica artery. Quoting the doctor, "the surgery went amazing well"! I did think about Sarah and her camel dreams when they told me to think about something pleasant before they knocked me out. I don't recall dreaming about anything.

There was a 20% chance of being able to use the stent and I was blessed that the neurosurgeon was able to place the stent in the artery and not have to block the artery completely.

The surgery was performed by going up my right and left artery starting in my groin. They did not need to go through my cranium. The doctors indicated that they would not be able to reach the aneurysm via the cranium.

I slept alot, had bad headaches for the first week which have for the most part gone away now. I now get the headaches and neck muscle stiffness when I have done too much.

I am looking at starting to work from home part time next week.

The doctors had given me two web sites which have clips that helped us understand the procedure better. www.neuroformstent.com, www.matrixcoils.com; and www.valormedical.com.

I appreciate everyones thoughts and prayers and am going great.

Sarah, I wonder if the Intervential Radiology Department at Washington Hospital Center would be able to access your aneurysm safer via the arteries to coil it instead of going through the cranium. It would be worth a consult.

Glad things went smoothly for you. I heard the drugs after a crainiotomy are much more entertaining, but the healing after coiling is faster. I guess getting coiled and stented is preferable. I might join that club myself. I got a second opinion from a surgeon at Stanford, he's also a professor and service chief of neurosurgery there. He said my untreated carotid annie should be coiled and stented. Rest up and get well. Glad to hear from you.
Sarah

Sarah, I am so glad you were able to get an opinion to do something with the annie instead of leaving it alone. The coiling is starting to become routine these days but the stenting of brain arteries isn't. The surgeon told me that the stent could stay open and everything will be fine;, or the stent could collapse gradually and hopefully other arteries in my brain would pick up the extra blood and oxygen flow to my brain, if not then my speech, coordination, right side of my face and left side of my body could be affected; or the stent could collapse at once and I would have a stroke or strokes. I have a follow-up appointment in a few weeks and in 6 months they will do an angiogram to check the coiling and stent.
Take care and my prayers are with you and the decision ahead of you.

Sarah, It is wonderful to have you back with us and I am so pleased everything went well for you. Good luck with restarting work, I found the hardest bit was learning to pace myself, because if I didnt I got the headaches/neck pain like you describe.

Yes my doctors told me they could not have reached my PICA annie through a crainiotomy, that is why coiling of the annie was the only option for me too, we are lucky that there is this technology.

Take care,


pam from England

Going to get my third opinion on that untreated annie of mine on the 25th. Hope to find a NS I can talk with to understand my best course of action. Wish me luck.
Sarah