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Neurointervention is a medical specialty that uses minimally invasive endovascular techniques and procedures to diagnose and treat diseases affecting the brain, head, neck and spine. These techniques are utilized as alternatives to traditional open surgery and allow physicians to access the brain and nervous system through small incisions or puncture sites in the skin. Some common procedures performed by interventional neurologists include:
Embolization for Brain Aneurysms and AVMs
One of the most common procedures performed is the endovascular coiling or embolization of brain aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Brain aneurysms and AVMs are abnormal bulges or tangles of blood vessels in the brain that can rupture and cause life-threatening bleeds (hemorrhages).
Through a small puncture in the groin, interventional neurology specialists are able to thread catheters and guidewires up into the blood vessels of the neck and brain. Using real-time imaging like fluoroscopy and angiograms, they can navigate precisely to the aneurysm or AVM. Then tiny platinum coils or liquid embolic agents are deployed through the catheter into the bulge or tangle to block blood flow and reinforce the weak spot.
This blocks pressure inside the aneurysm or AVM, reducing the risk of it rupturing in the future. Embolization helps avoid open brain surgeries that require cutting into the skull and have longer recovery times. It allows patients to get back to normal activities quicker with less risk of complications compared to traditional surgery.
Mechanical Thrombectomy for Strokes
Another common procedure is mechanical thrombectomy to remove blood clots causing ischemic strokes. In ischemic strokes, a clot blocks a blood vessel leading to the brain, cutting off oxygen supply. This can cause permanent neurological damage or death within hours.
Through the femoral artery, interventional neurology specialists precisely navigate a catheter to the clot’s location. Then a stent retriever or other thrombectomy device is passed through to physically capture and extract the clot. This allows blood flow to resume within minutes, reducing long-term disability from the stroke.
Research shows thrombectomy within 6 hours improves outcomes versus just using clot-busting drugs alone. It is the standard of care now for moderate to large vessel occlusion strokes to try to reverse symptoms successfully. It has benefited many patients who may otherwise have faced a lifetime recovering from severe stroke effects.
Pain Management and Balloon Angioplasty
As well as diagnostic and treatment procedures, Interventional Neurology also includes neuro-interventional pain management. Chronic pain conditions affecting the back, neck or head like cluster headaches can be treated through precise placement of catheters.
Catheters deliver numbing medications directly to nerve sites providing long-lasting pain relief, or in some cases, radiofrequency ablation can be applied to permanently disable overactive nerve pathways.
Other minimally invasive procedures involve using balloons and stents to open up compressed or narrowed arteries in the neck which supply blood to the brain. Called balloon angioplasty and stenting, this relives symptoms like dizziness or weakness caused by reduced blood flow from atherosclerosis or other vascular conditions. It prevents ongoing complications and risk of further stroke.
Benefits of Interventional Neurology
As can be seen from the above examples, Neurointervention offers many benefits versus traditional open surgeries:
– Less invasive procedures reduce trauma to tissues, blood loss, infection risks and scarring.
– Precise navigation techniques allow treatment of abnormalities deep within the brain that may have been inoperable previously.
– Quicker recovery times get patients back on their feet versus lengthy post-operative recovery periods.
– Outpatient procedures minimize hospital stays and reduce healthcare costs compared to major operations.
– Improved outcomes over alternatives like open surgery with fewer complications in experienced hands.
– Newer devices and techniques continuously advancing what conditions can be treated minimally compared to past years.
– Comfortable for patients awake under local anesthesia and able to return home same day often.
The Future of Neurointervention
As technology progresses, the field of Interventional Neurology will continue expanding treatment options available. Wider use of robotics, augmented reality for navigation, bioabsorbable implants, and new thrombectomy and embolization devices will improve outcomes further.
Neurointerventional radiologists also work closely with other specialties, bringing a minimally invasive perspective to complex, multi-disciplinary conditions affecting the brain and nervous system. Better understanding diseases like brain tumors, epilepsy, spinal issues and traumatic injuries will drive more targeted, personalized therapies through catheters.
Overall, Interventional Neurology represents a paradigm shift toward less traumatic, patient-centered care compared to open surgery. As research reinforces long-term benefits, its role alleviating neurological conditions in a minimally invasive manner will undoubtedly continue growing in coming years.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
