How To Treat A Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Endovascular Embolization

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Endovascular embolization is a major surgical procedure that helps treat abnormally formed blood vessels in the brain. While it's most commonly used for malformations in the brain, the procedure can also be used to treat abnormal vessels that cause symptoms in other areas of the body. It's an invasive surgery used as an alternative to open surgery. The goal is to block a certain blood vessel or blood vessels so that blood flow will be cut off from a certain area. Endovascular embolization might be recommended for patients who experience brain aneurysms, uterine fibroid tumors, abnormal circulatory system growths, excessive nosebleeds, or arteriovenous malformations. Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are abnormal clumps of blood vessels susceptible to bleeding. They can occur at any point in the body, but they're most likely to cause dangerous symptoms when they form around the spine or brain. Endovascular embolization is sometimes used as a primary form of treatment, or it can be used in conjunction with another surgery. Sometimes the purpose of endovascular embolization is to make another surgery safer.

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External Ventricular Drain Placement

Photo Credit: SunnybrookHospital

An external ventricular drain, which is placed during a surgical procedure, is used to redirect cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). It can be used for a variety of different medical conditions, though the main goal is to alleviate increased intracranial pressure that occurs as a result of leaking cerebrospinal fluid. Not everyone who has a subarachnoid hemorrhage will experience CSF leakage, but if they do, a drain placement is one of the most common ways to alleviate this. External ventricular drain placement is typically used to treat hydrocephalus, which is a symptom that can occur after a stroke or other neurological issues. These drains are flexible plastic catheters and are managed by the nurses and physicians in the intensive care unit. They are typically used as short-term, emergency solutions to hydrocephalus. The underlying cause of the hydrocephalus must be addressed. If there's no way to stop the hydrocephalus, the drain might be converted to a permanent cerebral shunt.

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