About This Treatment
A cerebral aneurysm is a weakened, balloon-like bulge in a brain artery. If it ruptures it causes subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is immediately life-threatening. Arteriovenous malformations, abnormal tangles connecting arteries directly to veins, carry a comparable risk of bleeding. Prof. Dr. Akın Akakın has extensive experience in vascular neurosurgery, including aneurysm clipping, AVM resection and the management of subarachnoid hemorrhage. This area also forms part of his academic work: his doctoral research examined the effects of gamma knife treatment and embolization on angiogenesis in arteriovenous malformations, and he has presented this work at international meetings including the AANS/CNS Cerebrovascular Section. Unruptured aneurysms are often discovered incidentally on imaging performed for another reason, and whether to treat them is a genuine clinical judgment that weighs the rupture risk against the risk of intervention. That conversation is worth having properly, with the imaging in front of you.