Neuro Vascular Surgery Clipping, Coiling, Embolization

Healthcare providers use endovascular coiling, also called endovascular embolization, to block blood flow into an aneurysm. An aneurysm is a weakened area in the wall of an artery. If an aneurysm ruptures, it can cause life-threatening bleeding and brain damage. Preventing blood flow into an aneurysm helps to keep it from rupturing.

For endovascular coiling, healthcare providers use a catheter, a long, thin tube inserted into a groin artery. The catheter is advanced into the affected brain artery where the coil is deployed. X-rays help guide the catheter into the artery. The coils are made of soft platinum metal, and are shaped like a spring. These coils are very small and thin, ranging in size from about twice the width of a human hair to less than one hair’s width.

Healthcare providers also use coiling to treat a condition called arteriovenous malformation, or AVM. An AVM is an abnormal connection between an artery and a vein. It may happen in the brain, spinal cord, or elsewhere in the body.