An OU Medicine neurosurgeon was the first in Oklahoma to use a potentially lifesaving device on aneurysms.
Traditionally, neurosurgeon Bradley Bohnstedt would have to open up the patient’s skull and place a clip on the aneurysm, which Bohnstedt describes as “blisters on the side of a blood vessel,” to prevent its rupture, according to a press release from OU Medicine.
However, with the Surpass Streamline Stent, Bohnstedt is able to divert the flow of blood away from an aneurysm by inserting the long tube into a blood vessel near the patient’s groin and directing it up to the aneurysm in the brain, according to the press release.
“We’re treating far more aneurysms with the Surpass Stent than we previously treated,” Bohnstedt said in the release. “By diverting the flow of blood away from the aneurysm, it reduces the stress on the wall of the aneurysm and allows it to heal and shrink.”
Physicians are finding more aneurysms today than ever before due to enhancements in technology, according to the press release.
Some aneurysms are small and harmless; however, others can be a danger to the patient.
If an aneurysm ruptures, 10 percent of patients will die before they make it to a hospital and 50 percent will die within six months of a rupture due to resulting complications, according to the press release.
Previous treatments have been ineffective in completely stopping the recurrence of ruptures, and while surgery is effective, it is invasive and leads to a long recovery period for the patient. The Surpass Stent, on the other hand, can treat larger, more distant aneurysms without major surgery — and once treated, they don’t return, according to the press release.
Bohnstedt hopes to further improve the device in the future in order to treat a wider range of conditions, according to the press release.
“We also hope to be involved with the study for the next generation of the Surpass device, which will have the ability to treat even more sizes of aneurysms in additional parts of the brain,” Bohnstedt said in the press release. “It’s important when we identify aneurysms that we stratify their risk for rupture to determine which ones need to be treated.”
