The doctors told us there was nothing they could do," recalls Nancy Luongo. "The aneurysm in Joe;s brain was considered inoperable. They basically sent him home to die." Nancy's husband Joe, at age 59, had been through this kind of thing before, but this time it was different. Decades earlier, when the aneurysm was first discovered he wasn't given much hope. But he beat the odds and went on to live a relatively normal life.

A Ticking Time Bomb

Ten years ago, however, Joe began experiencing double vision. Then he began suffering from unbearable facial pain. His doctors told him that the aneurysm was growing and causing progressively more damage. Additional symptoms appeared. He had problems with balance:he had to slow down: he could no longer work. The risk of catastrophic rupture was increasing: Joe was living with a ticking time bomb inside his brain.

Two consultants essentially wrote him off, saying that brain surgery was too risky . "Fortunately," Says Nancy Luongo, "Joe neurologist, Dr. Jay Coblenz, knew exactly where to send us." He referred them to Jafar J. Jafar, MD, Director of the Center for Cerebrovascular Surgery, in the Department of Neurosurgery at NYU Medical Center. Dr. Jafar told them that Joe harbored a giant basilar artery aneurysm that was pressing on his brainstem. The aneurysm had grown significantly, and if nothing were done the results would be fatal. A procedure known as Extracranial-Intracranial (EC-IC) Bypass, with trapping of the aneurysm, offered a reasonable chance for survival.

Cerebral Aneurysm

A cerebral aneurysm is a balloon-like pertrusion extending from the weakened wall of a blood vessel in the brain. As an aneurysm grows, the patient usually experiences symptoms resulting from the compression of surrounding brain tissue. These symptoms are often what prompt patients to seek medical attention. Patients with aneurysms may also experience a sudden onset of headaches and other symptoms, resulting form irritation caused by varying degrees of bleeding from the aneurysm. The primary danger associated with an aneurysm, however is the possibility of rupture and subsequent hemorrhage into the surrounding brain tissue, very often resulting in severe disability of instantaneous death.