Brain tumor embolization is a process that lets neurosurgeons block tumors from their blood supplies. During the embolization procedure, your doctor will inject a glue-like liquid or fine particles into blood vessels surrounding your tumor. This process decreases the amount of bleeding that you will experience during brain tumor removal surgery. Before undergoing a tumor embolization, you may want to learn more about the process to help you understand the experience.
The Brain Tumor Embolization Process
Embolization procedures may vary slightly depending on the size and location of your tumor. Your health status may also influence how your doctor wants to perform the procedure. Generally, though, you can expect your procedure to follow these steps.
Administering General Anesthesia
An anesthesiologist will administer general anesthesia so you are not conscious during the embolization procedure. This prevents you from experiencing discomfort and helps ensure that your body remains still during the operation. A medical team will monitor your vital signs and manage any risks, such as low blood pressure and low respiration, that may occur during your procedure.
Making the Incision and Inserting the Catheter
Once you have received anesthesia, your neurosurgeon will make a small incision in your femoral artery, which is located at the top of your thigh. This incision makes it possible for your surgeon to insert a catheter into the artery.
After inserting the catheter, your neurosurgeon will wind the small plastic tube through your artery to the affected part of your brain. He or she can direct the catheter carefully with assistance from imaging technology. Throughout the process, your neurosurgeon will see and follow the catheter on six imaging screens to allow for good visualization.
Blocking Blood Flow to the Brain Tumor
When your doctor reaches the area of your brain that contains the tumor, he or she will block blood flow to the affected area. Your doctor may use one of several medical products to block blood flow. With glue embolization, the surgeon injects a chemical called n-Butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) into the area. The glue fills surrounding blood vessels so they cannot bleed. Other options include filling vessels with tiny coils, microspheres or beads.
For patients with brain tumors, embolization is most often used to isolate the tumor from surrounding vessels. By isolating the tumor, the removal of the tumor through an opening in the skull can be more safe as the tumor may bleed less. This will require fewer blood transfusion during the actual tumor surgery and in some instances this could lead to shorter operating times. The actual tumor removal surgery will take place at a later date, typically the following day.
Tumor embolization is most often considered for tumors that are considered to be very bloody, i.e. have a lot of blood supply. Talk to your doctor to decide whether you can achieve the needed results through embolization or whether you should undergo future procedures to protect your health.
Retracting the Catheter
After your neurosurgeon has successfully implanted glue, coils or other medical products into the blood vessels surrounding your tumor, he or she will retract the catheter. Again, the doctor will use imaging technology to guide the catheter through your artery carefully.
The type of imaging technology used during the catheter insertion and retraction processes is done on a special radiology machine called a biplane fluoroscopy machine. It’s important to choose a facility that offers the latest imaging technology, since biplane devices make it easier for neurosurgeons to follow the artery’s narrow pathway and visualize the tumor.
Brain Tumor Embolization Helps Patients and Surgeons Succeed
Getting diagnosed with a brain tumor may, understandably, scare you and your loved ones. However, treatment options have improved significantly over the last few decades and, thanks to brain tumor embolization, more patients and neurosurgeons are succeeding in the treatment process.
