Neurovascular Program

Overview

Treatment of vascular diseases of the nervous system has been evolving to less minimally invasive interventions over the past decade.  Such treatments are quickly becoming the standard of care for the treatment of diseases such as intracranial aneurysms and carotid stenosis. With the recruitment of the provinces first neurosurgical endovascular neurosurgeon, Calgary has quickly become Western Canada’s leader.  Many patients are treated with a single day admission, using minimally invasive approaches (as opposed to open traditional surgery), and saved long in-hospital stays. In conjunction with our well-known and internationally recognized Stroke Program, the endovascular program has already become an important partner in stroke research.

The Neurovascular Program is a joint collaborative effort of specialists and allied healthcare staff from multiple disciplines (cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery, interventional neuroradiology, and stroke neurology), to combat neurovascular disease. The past year has seen further academic integration of the Neurovascular Program into the Stroke Program. Shared resources have allowed greater new and continued participation of neurosurgery and radiology in several international stroke studies, such as IMS-3, CREST, ENACT, ALISAH, and CONSCIOUS-2. The program has continued to see growth and expansion in the number of patients with complex cerebrovascular disease. Approximately 500 patients with neurovascular disease are seen yearly in a specialized outpatient clinic for evaluation and follow-up. Currently about 200 patients are treated annually via minimally invasive endovascular means such as endovascular coiling, embolization, and carotid stenting. As well, surgical volumes and expertise in open neurosurgery have been maintained with the availability of specialized procedures such as craniotomy and aneurysm clipping, carotid endarterectomy, resection of vascular malformations, and extracranial-intracranial bypass. An integrated relationship with the Alberta Radiosurgery Centre, which uses focussed radiotherapy techniques unique in Canada, has allowed the non-invasive and safe treatment of patients with complex arteriovenous malformations. In the coming months, we plan to consolidate the outpatient experience of patients with cerebrovascular disease from both clinical and administrative standpoints and launch the Neurovascular Clinic in Calgary. This will allow the rapid triage and evaluation of patients to expedite and provide high-quality care, and allow further opportunities for teaching and clinical studies.

 

 

Updated: 2009-04-30