The patient, Mr Humaid Al Zaa’bi, said he suffered from an extremely severe and sudden headache while working out at the gym.

“I called the ambulance and they gave me some pain killers, which made me feel better for a while. But later that day, the headache came back stronger so I immediately visited the hospital,” said Mr Al Zaa’bi.

The patient visited Rashid Hospital’s Neurosurgery Department, where doctors at the department conducted a CT scan and other needed tests.

Dr Abdulla Qasim, Neurosurgery Consultant at Rashid Hospital said it was determined from the results of the examination that the patient was suffering from a complicated case of brain aneurysm, which required immediate surgical intervention.

Dr Qasim explained that a brain aneurysm is an abnormal dilation and widening of a blood vessel, which results from the weakening of the muscular walls of the vessels. Most often, the aneurysm is balloon shaped.

In Mr Zaabi’s case, the doctors believed that his condition was a result of risk factors present from birth.

He said that the medical team immediately conducted the surgery, which took around two hours where they placed four artery mini-clips to restore the normal shape of the blood vessel, and block the aneurysm, from bleeding again. Rashid Hospital performs the largest number of brain aneurysm treatments in the UAE every year.

Dr Qasim revealed that the complicated and rare surgery was a success adding that the team used an innovative method to determine the success of the surgery by injecting a fluorescein dye (ICG) to ensure that the blood is flowing smoothly in the patient’s brain vessels. He added that Rashid Hospital is the only hospital that has adopted this innovative technique in the UAE. During surgery and under the microscopic visualization, the blood vessels glow bright when the dye is injected. This confirms that the surgery is a success and the blood flow is normal.

“I am out of the hospital and feeling much better. I would like to thank all the staff at Rashid Hospital’s Neurosurgery Department from doctors to nurses to administrate staff. I would like to specially thank Dr Qassim and his team for the treatment and care I received,” concluded Mr Zaabi.

The causes of brain aneurysm are unknown, but a range of factors may increase the risk. Risk factors that develop over time include: older age, cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, head injury and blood infections, to name a few. Risk factors present at birth include inherited connective tissue disorders and Cerebral arteriovenous malformation, to name a few.


Source: Zawya