Head-to-Head Comparison: Coils top clips in brain-aneurysm treatment
By Nathan Seppa
Insertion of a tiny metal coil into a bleeding aneurysm in the brain appears safer in the long run for some patients than a more-established treatment that requires brain surgery, researchers find.
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A brain aneurysm—an abnormal bulge in a weakened blood vessel—is a tragedy in waiting. Aneurysms sometimes rupture, and the leaking blood can cause brain damage ending in disability or death. Until the past decade, surgeons had responded to such crises by creating a hole in a patient’s skull and sealing off the aneurysm with a metal clip. By stopping leakage and restoring blood flow through the vessel, such clipping has saved many lives. But the surgery carries risks inherent in any brain operation.