Prayagraj: Swaroop Rani Nehru (SRN) Hospital performed its first Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA), marking a major step towards introducing endovascular treatment for brain aneurysms. The Neurosurgery department successfully conducted the procedure on a 45-year-old woman from Naini and is now preparing to start aneurysm treatment through endovascular coiling.Doctors said a ruptured brain aneurysm is a major cause of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH), a condition that can lead to sudden severe headache, vomiting, paralysis or loss of consciousness. CT angiography and, when required, DSA are used to detect aneurysms and assess the affected blood vessels.The Neurosurgery Department has been treating brain aneurysms through conventional surgery for the past few years, in which a clip is placed on the aneurysm. Endovascular coiling is a minimally invasive alternative in suitable cases. In the procedure, a thin catheter is inserted through a blood vessel in the hand or thigh and guided to the affected blood vessel in the brain. Special coils are then placed inside the aneurysm to prevent blood from entering it. The technique does not require a major incision in the skull and may allow faster recovery in suitable patients.The patient is stable and in good health following the procedure.As the Neurosurgery department does not yet have its own catheterisation laboratory, the DSA was performed in the Cardiology Department’s cath lab. Doctors said the availability of DSA will open the way for endovascular treatment of brain aneurysms and other neurovascular disorders at SRN.Principal of MLN Medical College, Dr AK Verma has congratulated the team and said the hospital was continuously expanding advanced medical facilities. DSA uses contrast and specialised X-ray imaging to produce detailed images of brain blood vessels, helping doctors determine the location, size and structure of an aneurysm and decide between clipping and coiling.B
