Seoul St. Mary's Hospital Achieves 5,000 Cases of Cerebral Aneurysm Surgery

The Department of Neurosurgery at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital held a ceremony to commemorate the achievement of 5,000 cases of brain aneurysm surgeries performed through craniotomy and endovascular treatment.
[Photo by Seoul St. Mary's Hospital]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The Department of Neurosurgery at Catholic University Seoul St. Mary's Hospital announced on the 21st that it has achieved 5,000 cases of brain aneurysm surgeries through craniotomy and endovascular treatment, following the recent successful coil embolization of a brain aneurysm in a 58-year-old female patient.

The brain aneurysm surgeries at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital's Department of Neurosurgery began with about 50 cases in 2008, increased to around 200 cases annually from 2009, about 300 cases annually from 2012, and reached approximately 500 cases annually from 2019, showing steady growth in line with the increasing number of brain aneurysm patients each year. Looking at the 5,000 cases, surgical treatments accounted for 2,451 cases (49%), and interventional treatments accounted for 2,549 cases (51%).

A brain aneurysm is a condition where a weakened part of a cerebral blood vessel bulges into a balloon-like shape a few millimeters in size, with a thin vessel wall that can rupture easily. When a brain aneurysm ruptures, subarachnoid hemorrhage occurs, which has a reported mortality rate of 45%. Symptoms such as consciousness impairment, diplopia, hemiplegia, visual field defects, and sensory abnormalities may also appear.

Treatment to prevent rupture is selectively performed considering the location, shape, size of the aneurysm, and the patient's vascular condition. Surgery and intervention each have their advantages and disadvantages, so it is important to appropriately choose between the two methods. Representative procedures include "clip ligation (craniotomy)," a surgery where the skull is opened and the aneurysm is accessed using a microscope and clipped, and "coil embolization (endovascular treatment)," a procedure where a catheter is inserted into the aneurysm through the femoral artery without opening the skull, and thin platinum coils are filled to prevent rupture.

The Brain Aneurysm Multidisciplinary Team at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital operates in a hybrid operating room established in 2015, linking surgery and intervention without delay after angiography for patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage, and also performs complex cerebrovascular surgeries requiring both intervention and surgery simultaneously. Last year, the hospital took a leading role in brain aneurysm treatment by introducing the 'WEB' flow disruptor, the first of its kind in Korea.

Professor Shin Yong-sam of the Department of Neurosurgery said, "It is an excellent aspect that decisions regarding whether to perform intervention or surgery for brain aneurysms are made through organic collaboration as one team," adding, "We will continue to strive to demonstrate outstanding performance in cerebrovascular diseases at the hospital in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.