Below is a narrated animation of Endovascular coiling. Click here to license this video and other similar images/videos on Alila Medical Media website.

Endovascular coiling or endovascular embolization is a minimally invasive technique performed to treat brain aneurysms. The goal of the treatment is to block blood flow into the aneurysm and therefore reduce the risk of aneurysm rupturing.

In this procedure, a catheter guided by a wire is inserted through the femoral artery at the groin and threaded all the way to the affected brain artery. The guide wire is removed. A micro-catheter carrying a soft platinum coil is introduced inside the initial catheter and is navigated into the aneurysm opening. The coil is then deployed into the aneurysm sac. A small electrical current is passed to detach the coil from the catheter. It may take several coils to fill the aneurysm. The coils induce blood clotting inside the aneurysm and seal it off from the artery.

In some cases, when the neck of the aneurysm is too wide, a stent may be used to keep the coils within the aneurysm sac. Stent-assisted coiling involves permanently placing a stent in the artery prior to coiling. The stent acts as a scaffold inside the artery to help holding the coils in place.