New Aneurysm Repair Technique Undergoes Testing

In a procedure that is the first of its kind in North America, patients with brain aneurysms are receiving a treatment in which physicians insert a repair coil directly into the aneurysm to stop blood flow into the area. The coil, which is being tested at The Methodist Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, is coated with a biologically active material designed to create scar and connective tissue.

"This new technology uses the same platinum core as the coils we’ve used in the past, but the polymer coating creates more collagen inside the aneurysm," said Michel E. Mawad, M.D., chief of radiology services at Methodist and chairman and professor in the department of radiology at Baylor. "The collagen enhances the healing process and the long-term effectiveness of the procedure."

Methodist and Baylor are among 12 institutions around the globe that together will evaluate how 100 patients fared after implantation with the coated coil, named the "Matrix Acceleration of Connective Tissue Formation in EndoVascular Aneurysm Repair" coil. The technology was developed by a company named Boston Scientific/Target, based in Fremont, Calif.

Compared to bare platinum coils in pre-clinical animal studies, the Matrix coils increased the amount of mature, intra-aneurysm connective tissue, increased aneurysm neck tissue thickness and reduced aneurysm size.

Sarah Sykes, 66, of Montgomery, Texas, was the world’s third patient implanted with the coil. In March, she visited her doctor complaining of what she thought were migraine headaches. An MRI exam revealed an aneurysm, and in May, Mawad inserted the coil into the site of Sykes’ aneurysm. Two days later, Sykes was released from the hospital.

"I told her she could be back on the golf course in three days," said Mawad, commenting on the procedure’s quick recovery time. "We saved her life with this new coil. She had a very serious aneurysm that would have been extremely tough to operate on with a normal, open surgery."

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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