Neurosurgeon Performs Brain Surgery Without Cutting into Skull

Traditional surgery to repair life-threatening brain aneurysms is highly invasive. It involves opening the skull, retracting the brain and placing a clip to seal off the ruptured aneurysm. Recovery takes months, and patients can suffer cognitive deficits.

However, neurosurgeon William W. Ashley Jr., MD, PhD, of the Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Ill., was able to repair patient Carolyn Davis’ aneurysm without cutting into her skull. Instead, he repaired the defect with a catheter threaded through her blood vessels up to her brain. For more information, click here to read the full release.