Saccular Aneurysms

Left: A CT scan revealing a large intraparenchymal hemorrhage in the right frontal lobe. Right: A arteriogram of the same patient demonstrating a saccular aneurysm of the left callosomarginal artery.

Aneurysms develop because of a weakness in the wall of the vessel. Because of the weakness, a particular spot will balloon out and fill with blood. The pressure from the ballooning can affect surrounding nerves or brain tissue. The blood vessel can rupture, causing bleeding in the brain. The cause of most aneurysms is unknown. In a small number of patients, aneurysms are inherited with multiple family memebers affected. Studies have found that people with connective tissue disorders, polycystic kidney disease and certain circulatory disorders, such as arteriovenous malformations, are more likely to get aneurysms. Other potential causes include head trauma, cancer, high blood pressure, infection, tumors, cigarette smoking, and drug abuse. Oral contraceptives have also been a suspected cause.

A saccular aneurysm is a sac of blood attached by a neck to a blood vessel. Aneurysms fall into three size classifications: small (under 11mm in diameter), larger (11mm to 25mm) and giant (greater than 25mm). Aneurysms typically have no symptoms unless they rupture. If the aneurysm gets big enough to put pressure on surrounding organs there may be warning symptoms before it ruptures. These syptoms include loss of vision, double vision, headaches, pain behind the eyes, drooping eyelids, and nausea or vomiting with possible speech impairment, seizures, and neck pain.

Being diagnosed with a brain aneurysm is like having a ticking time bomb in your head. A person can go their entire life with an aneurysm and never notice anything. If an aneurysm ruptures, it can cause stroke, nerve damage, and even death. If a brain aneurysm is found before it ruptures, most likey the means of treatment will be a minimal invasive endovascular surgery to place coils, embolization or balloons to minimize the aneurysm, or even clipping to isolate the aneurysm.