Interventional Neurology

Interventional neurology is a specialty that utilizes minimally invasive, image-guided techniques to treat many of the most complex and dangerous diseases of the brain, neck and spine. One of the primary objectives of interventional neurology is to improve stroke care.

A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of the brain has been cut off because a blood clot has blocked a blood vessel. Blood clots can travel to the brain from another artery or they can come from the heart. There are two main types of stroke, ischemic and hemorrhagic. Ischemic is more common and is caused by a blood clot that blocks a blood vessel or artery in the brain. Hemorrhagic is caused by a blood vessel breaking and bleeding into the brain. An arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is an abnormal tangle of poorly formed blood vessels that have a higher rate of bleeding than normal vessels. An aneurysm is an abnormal widening or ballooning of a portion of an artery due to weakness in the wall of the blood vessel.

Our interventional neurologists are able to use the latest in neurointerventional equipment to perform minimally-invasive surgery to remove the blood clot or repair the vessel.

These procedures are performed under the guidance of advanced X-ray monitors. Recent advances in imaging capabilities enable our highly-trained interventional neurologists to treat blocked arteries of the brain by removing, breaking-up or even sucking out the blood clot. With the assistance of this equipment, our physicians help save the lives of patients and allow them to return to a normal life, in some cases before the loss of function.

Our interventional neurologists treat the following conditions:

• Acute Stroke Management including endovascular and neurocritical care
• Aneurysm coiling and AVF and AVM embolizations
• Mechanical thrombectomy, carotid and vertebral artery stents
• Procedures
• Thrombectomy
• Carotid stent
• Vertebral artery stent
• Intracranial stent
• Aneurysm coiling (stent or balloon assist)
• Embolization of brain or spinal cord fistula
• Embolization of epistaxis
• Intracranial or extracranial tumor embolization
• Spinal angiogram
• Diagnostic angiogram
• Balloon occlusion test
• Vessel sacrificing for trauma