title: Case study: nursing care of the patient with vertebral artery aneurysm treated by endovascular stenting and coil implantation.
abstract: As we move towards the 21st Century, it is evident that healthcare is significantly altered by advancements in technology. The following case study describes the first reported procedure in a human, in which a vertebral artery stent was inserted to act as a "bridge" for coil placement in the treatment of a wide-necked vertebral artery aneurysm. Due to the size, shape and calcification of the aneurysm, conventional neurosurgery and/or endovascular coiling were considered inappropriate obliterative mechanisms. Instead, a new therapy that combined surgical and endovascular techniques was successfully initiated. Therapies such as the stent procedure have only been successful in canine studies. Aneurysms unsuitable for conventional therapy, including clipping or endovascular techniques, were once thought untreatable. Stenting now provides the surgeon and patient with another therapeutic modality to better manage difficult wide-necked aneurysms.
authors.affiliation: Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barr
mesh_terms: D000783:Aneurysm / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000451:nursing* / Q000601:surgery*; D017130:Angioplasty / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D019990:Perioperative Care; D011859:Radiography; D015607:Stents; D014711:Vertebral Artery