Chennai hospital performs wrist-based procedure for ruptured brain aneurysm

Chennai hospital successfully treats a ruptured brain aneurysm using a wrist-based procedure, aiding faster recovery and minimal trauma.

A 60-year-old woman with a rare, wide-neck cerebral aneurysm was treated at Rela Hospital in Chennai. Doctors used a Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device, inserted through a wrist artery, to block blood flow into the aneurysm and prevent further bleeding.

The patient was brought to the hospital with a sudden, severe headache, loss of consciousness, and high blood pressure of 230/140 mmHg. Emergency brain imaging, including CT scan and cerebral digital subtraction angiography, revealed bleeding around the brain on the right side due to a ruptured wide-neck aneurysm located at a vessel bifurcation, where one artery divides into two.

Doctors performed emergency embolisation using the WEB device, a mesh-like implant placed directly inside the aneurysm to block blood flow, allowing it to clot and become inactive. Unlike conventional approaches, the technique avoided open surgery, stents, and the need for dual antiplatelet medication. The device was delivered via the radial artery in the wrist rather than the femoral artery in the groin, reducing procedural trauma and enabling earlier mobilisation.

The procedure was led by Muralidharan Vetrivel, cerebrovascular neurosurgeon and neurointerventionist, with support from senior neurosurgeons Natesan Damodaran and Ramanan Rajagopal, clinical lead in neuroanaesthesia. The patient is recovering well and has been moved out of the ICU.