Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville provides new treatment for ruptured and unruptured brain aneurysms

Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville provides new treatment  for ruptured and unruptured brain aneurysms

By Cindy Hamilton

     Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville is part of an international trial evaluating a new treatment for both ruptured and unruptured brain aneurysms.

The worldwide study, WEB Intrasaccular Therapy Study (WEB-IT), is approved to enroll 139 patients at up to 25 sites in the U.S., Canada, and Europe and will evaluate the WEB for the treatment of brain aneurysms. Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville had the first cases in the state today performed by Ricardo Hanel, MD, Phd, and neurovascular surgeon with Lyerly Neurosurgery. Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville is the second site in the U.S. where the procedure has been conducted. Visiting physicians also observed.

The WEB Aneurysm Embolization System consists of a dense mesh constructed from a large number of extremely fine wires that is placed into an aneurysm through a catheter by way of the femoral artery. The WEB reduces and eventually stops the amount of blood flow into the aneurysm and over time allows the aneurysm to heal.

The aim of the WEB device is to prevent blood from entering an aneurysm and therefore reduce the risk of it bleeding. The WEB enables physicians to treat a broad range of intra-cranial aneurysms in an innovative new way and is designed to allow physicians to success-fully treat large, wide necked aneurysms that may be difficult to treat with coils alone.

“This device brings a much improved opportunity for minimally invasive treatment with hopefully better durability for patients harboring aneurysms that are typically treated with an open craniotomy surgery to repair the aneurysm or complex endovascular reconstructions,” said Dr. Hanel, who is also director of the Stroke & Cerebrovascular Center at Baptist Jacksonville with neurovascular surgeon Eric Sauvageau, MD.  “The WEB is a revolutionary treatment for challenging ruptured and unruptured aneurysms. The initiation of the WEB-IT study represents an important milestone for this ex-citing technology platform and a critical step towards improving outcomes in a patient population with significant unmet needs.”

Dr. Sauvageau added that the WEB device is “a window toward the feasibility of more treatment of aneurysms through a minimally invasive approach. We look forward to collaborating with a talented group of physician investigators.”

The study will be conducted by a group of experienced North American and European physicians.

The WEB-IT study will build upon an existing foundation of clinical evidence for the WEB, which includes three European prospective, multicenter studies; 15 peer-reviewed clinical publications and nearly 1,000 patients treated with the WEB.

To make an appointment with physicians about aneurysm treatment and whether you may be a candidate for this procedure, call (904) 448.3416. For more information on services at the Stroke & Cerebrovascular Center at Baptist Jacksonville, go to http://www.baptistjax.com/services/stroke-and-cerebrovascular-care.