Has anyone here been diagnosed with a supraclinoid ICA aneurysm?

Northann: I would think the main reason to see your primary care physician is to ask for a referral to a neuro doctor. A neurologist at the very least, and preferably, a neurosurgeon who specializes in aneurysms. My understanding is once an aneurysm reaches 5 mm, the neuro docs start the conversation about some kind of intervention, either coiling or a craniotomy, to close the aneurysm off. My aneurysm had grown from 5 to almost 6 before I finally talked myself into taking care of it. Most likely at 4 mm the "watch-and-wait" protocol will be recommended. As an aside, during the 9 months I didn't follow the neurosurgeon's advice to have my aneurysm coiled, I was seeing an osteopath (an actual medical doctor who also does manipulations like a chiropractor) for neck pain. I had never mentioned the neck pain to the neurosurgeon during my initial consult. After my aneurysm was coiled my headaches disappeared. And after the coiling procedure, during my follow up visit, I asked the neurosurgeon where, exactly, the aneurysm was located. From what he explained it was very near from where an artery branched out from my neck. That gave me pause thinking the neck pain and the aneurysm could be related.

Thank you so much for your response! I'm waiting now for a call from the U of M to plan a vascular surgery. I would prefer if they fix it immediately but we will see what they say. Definitely has my anxiety sky high! The neck pain and headaches may not be related to my aneurysm since it is so small. I'm thinking it may be related to an ATV accident I was in on 2022 in which I was crushed. 14 broken ribs in multiple places, 4 vertebrae, right wrist shattered, both lungs collapsed, 11 days on a ventilator, etc. So I do get a lot of pain but these headaches are new for me. I'm just not sure what to think at this point.

Hi, @northann - that was sure a big ATV accident you experienced with all those fractures, etc. Wow.

Tagging a few members who may be familiar with the supraclinoid ICA aneurysm you mentioned you were diagnosed with, or neck pain or headache to see if they have some input for you on your aneurysm's potential relationship to the pain you've experienced or perhaps your ATV accident @hnrharrison @houston13 @lakelifelady @uroojkamran @cd8 @sadivari @ricj. I'd also like to tag @hopeful33250 to join in this discussion.

Have you heard back about your vascular surgery, northann?

I had a 3 mm supraclinoid aneurysm that was repaired, in my case a stent rather than coil, the method depends on multiple factors. In my case they recommended I had it repaired even though it was asymptomatic and small because there had been cases in my family of ruptures. The aneurysm had endovascular access which made the procedure (embolization) fairly low risk, the surgeon said since I was in good physical health and no craniotomy was needed, I could have it repaired and forget about it. They found mine as my brother had one ruptured and they discovered he had 2 others, and there had been other cases in the family so my Dr ordered an MRI to check, and sure enough I also had one. At that size they are normally asymptomatic, I’m not a Dr or expert but I doubt yours was caused by the accident. In my particular case it is obvious there is a genetic propensity and I have a bicuspid aortic valve which are known for contributing to aneurysms (even beyond the aorta, BTW I also had an ascending aortic aneurysm, also repaired)

If yours is repairable by embolization, I would consider getting it done, it is a fairly easy, minimally invasive procedure.

They would normally do an angiogram to get a complete and accurate picture of the aneurysm, the embolization would be a similar procedure as the angiogram but of course with the catheter and tools to repair rather than imaging.

To give you more detail, my first stent did not work 100% they kept monitoring me and 3 years later they implanted a second one inside the first one. Now that seemed to do the trick

Hope everything goes well!!!

Hello @northann,

I'm glad that you found Mayo Connect. While we aren't medical professionals, we are patients and understand your concerns as patients. I do not have any personal experience with aneurysm, but I do know, from the experience of others, that aneurysms often do not cause pain or discomfort and come as a surprise to those who have them.

Your accident in 2022, however, does sound like something that could result in the chronic pain that you are describing. It would be good to have a consult with a neurologist and/or vascular surgeon to take a closer look at the aneurysm. A consult with an orthopedic specialist might be wise to determine how this pain might be related to your previous injuries from the ATV accident.

You do not mention your age; however, arthritis can certainly become a factor with serious injuries such as the ones who described. Do you follow up with an orthopedic doctor? Has physical therapy been suggested?

You do have a lot of avenues to investigate given your history. I look forward to hearing from you again as you look for answers. Will you continue to post as you continue this process of investigation?