Neurosurgeons have a variety of highly specialized and targeted ways to address diseases and conditions affecting the brain, including a subspecialty known as endovascular surgery and neurointerventional radiology.
At the Ayer Neuroscience Institute, in order to offer our patients the best possible care and minimally-invasive options to open surgery, many of our providers have dual training and experience with this subspecialty, which uses tools and catheters passed through blood vessels to diagnose and treat neurological conditions and diseases.
Types of Neurointerventional Radiology
- Aneurysm Embolization. If you have an aneurysm - a bulging, weakened area in the wall of an artery in the brain - this procedure can help. The surgeon inserts a thin metal wire into the aneurysm. The wire coils within the aneurysm and blocks the blood flow, preventing the aneurysm from bursting. More complex aneurysms may require insertion of a mesh cylinder into the aneurysm sac or placement of a small metal stent across the opening to the aneurysm to divert its blood flow.
- Mechanical Thrombectomy. The surgeon can use specially designed flexible catheters and retrieval devices to remove a clot from within a blood vessel in the brain, reducing the damage caused by a stroke.
- Cerebral angiography. Using advanced technology, we can look at the way blood is flowing in your brain.
- Carotid artery angioplasty. The carotid artery supplies blood to your brain. If it narrows, we can go in with a small balloon and/or metal stent to reopen it and restore blood flow.
- Minimally-invasive spine surgery. We treat spine disorders, whether congenital or resulting from injuries or tumors, using minimally-invasive techniques conducted through small incisions.
Neurointerventional Radiology Care Team
Working in collaboration with the rest of your care team, our neurointerventional radiologists provide advanced, specialized care needed to help many neurology patients.
These are fellowship-trained endovascular neurosurgery specialists with training in both neurosurgery and radiology.